Harvard Art Museum Report

  1891  Gift given by Mrs. Elizabeth Fogg in memory of her deceased husband to build an art museum in his name.   1895 Opening of the Fogg Museum as a teaching facility for art scholars, curators and museum professionals.    1897  Professors George Bartlett, Kuno Francke, and Hugo K. Schilling publish the pamphlet, “The Need of a Germanic Museum at Harvard.” 1901 November 10—the birthday of Martin Luther and Friedrich Schiller—marks the dedication of the Germanic Museum in Rogers Gymnasium (pictured). Kuno Francke is named curator. At the time of the dedication, the Germanic Museum was the only museum in North America to be dedicated to the arts of Central and Northern Europe.   1910 Adolphus Busch donates $265,000 for the construction of a new building. A design is commissioned from German Bestelmeyer of Dresden, who also built the Reichsschulden-verwaltung building, Berlin (1921–23) and was a proponent of Nazi architecture. 1921 After delays due to W...

  The Busch-Reisinger Museum through Nine Decades  September 28, 1991–December 1, 1991,  Busch-Reisinger Museum       Rembrandt: A Selection of his Works  October 18, 1984–December 11, 1984, Fogg Art Museum     In Memoriam: Gian Lorenzo Bernini  August 1, 1980–October 15, 1980 , Fogg Art Museum      Early Science at Harvard  December 18, 1969–February 1, 1970 , Fogg Art Museum       Master Bronzes from the Classical World  December 4, 1967–January 23, 1968, Fogg Art Museum/ March, 1968–April 13, 1968, City Art Museum of St.  Louis/ May  8, 1968–June 30, 1968, Los Angeles County Museum of Art       Memorial Exhibition: Works of Art from the Collection of Paul J. Sachs [1878-1965] Given and Bequeathed to the Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts  November 15, 1965–January 15, 1966 , Fogg Art Museum      Auguste Rodin: An Exhibition of...

  Harvard Art Museums Floor Plan Post-Renovation The first level of the current floor plan includes the courtyard, café, and collections of Modern and Contemporary art, Ancient Chinese and Buddhist art.  The second level of the current floor plan primarily exhibits European and American art, but there is also galleries for art of Asia and Africa. There also exists a small gallery for temporary rotating exhibitions curated by professors and other museum professionals. The third floor is home to the museum's collection of art from the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East and course and special exhibitions. The fourth and fifth floors of the museum include the Museum's onsite conservation location and the Lightbox Gallery. The Renzo Piano renovations to the Harvard Art Museums begin in 2014. Piano restored the 1927 building and added a more contemporary glass covering and transparent joint. The Italian architect is well-known for his postmodern and high tech architectural approach...

Scope of the Museum Collection  Sandro  With its opening in 1895, the Fogg Museum is the oldest Harvard Museum. Its opening was made possible by a gift of 200000 dollars by Mrs Fogg and of a few European and American paintings collected by the couple during their travels. The building originally housed the Harvard Center for Fine Arts as well as 'secondary evidence', i.e. plaster casts, as well as the aforementioned paintings. They were used to serve the faculty and students of Harvard, rather than to rival the Boston MFA. The latter option was also excluded because of the museum's finances at the time, with its budget roughly being 10% of the annual expense used for maintaining the Boston MFA.  Since this period, the Fogg Museum has witnessed a dramatic increase of its collections, which are now dedicated to Western Art over a large timeframe. T he Busch-Reisinger museum was founded in 1901 as the Germanic Museum. Its opening was linked to the exchanges between Harvard a...

  Harvard Art Museums' Names + Origins Zak Kish-DeGiulio Harvard Art Museums Timeline Research: Sandro Capo Chichi Design: Kéla Jackson Harvard Art Museums  Mission + Oversight Kéla Jackson + Sandro Capo Chichi " The Harvard Art Museums—the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum—advance knowledge about and appreciation of art and art museums. The museums are committed to preserving, documenting, presenting, interpreting, and strengthening the collections and resources in their care." " Through research, teaching, professional training, and public education, the museums strive to advance the understanding and appreciation of art. Programs encourage close looking at original works of art, collaboration with campus and community partners, and the production of new scholarship." The Harvard Art Museums, originally the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur Sackler Museum, demonstrate a portion of Harvard's expa...