Although Harvard had acquired two large collections of prints earlier in
the nineteenth century, the history of the Art Museums at Harvard began
in
1891, when Harvard University received an unexpected bequest of $220,000
from Mrs. William Hayes Fogg. When the original Fogg Art Museum opened
in
1895, it housed mostly reproductions. Its collections, its role in the
University, and its relationship to the world at large had yet to evolve.
The spiritual founders of the Art Museums were Edward Forbes (director,
1909-1944) and Paul Sachs (assistant director/associate
director/professor
of Fine Arts, 1915-1944), who enunciated the ideal of the Fogg as a
"laboratory for the Fine Arts" and advocated using "original art works of
the highest quality" for teaching the young about art. The three-part
focus of their program was to train professionals in the burgeoning new
field of art museum administration, to provide resources for the teaching
of college and university teachers in art history, and to expose
undergraduates of all kinds to the importance of art in all human
cultures.
The application of science to the study of art and art conservation also
began under Forbes when he established what has become the Straus Center
for Conservation and Technical Studies. During this period, the role of
the Harvard University Art Museums as catalysts, as generators of ideas
and
information for the art world, and as training centers for professionals
in
art history and for public museums was established.
The Busch-Reisinger Museum, originally the Germanic Museum and a branch
of
the Germanic Languages Department, became affiliated with the Fogg after
Charles Kuhn became curator in 1930. Kuhn began actively collecting
original works of art and, by the time of his retirement in 1968, had
assembled one of the finest collections of German Expressionist art in
the
world. His active and highly original exhibition program brought many
new
artists to Boston and had a lasting effect on the understanding of German
modern art both locally and nationally.
After plans for the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (opened in 1985) to house
ancient, Asian, and Islamic art and related programs were made in the
early
1980s, the Museums adopted the name "Harvard University Art Museums" to
reflect their unified administration. Werner Otto Hall opened in 1991 to
house parts of the Fine Arts Library and to provide a new home for the
Busch-Reisinger Museum, which moved from Adolphus Busch Hall in 1987.
Adolphus Busch Hall is presently open for the display of casts of
medieval
sculpture. Plans are underway for the renovation of Busch Hall as a
fully
functioning gallery of medieval art. In April 1994 the Mongan Center for
the Study of Prints, Drawings and Photographs opened to house all works
of
Western art on paper.
The Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, established in
1928 by Edward W. Forbes and residing in the Fogg Art Museum, is the
oldest
fine arts conservation treatment, research, and training facility in the
United States. Currently under renovation and due to open in 1996 in
state-of-the-art facilities, the Center specializes in the conservation
of
works of art on paper, paintings, sculpture, decorative objects, and
historic and archaeological artifacts. While the Center provides
services
for the Harvard University Art Museums and other Harvard departments, its
clients encompass a broad range of institutions -- including historical
societies, regional or specialized museums, archives, libraries, and
historical sites.
The Center is a pioneer in the use of sophisticated techniques to analyze
the structural and chemical nature of works of art and historical
objects.
As a research institution, the Center specializes in performing
integrated
technical and art historical studies of works of art. Its fully equipped
facilities support a comprehensive range of analytical services,
including
pigment, stone, ceramic, and metal identification; spectroscopic analyses
of organic materials, including pigments, paint binding media, and
surface
treatments and coatings. Much of the analytical staff's time is devoted
to
providing support for students, faculty, and curatorial research.
The Sardis Expedition, established in 1958 by George M.A. Hanfmann, then
curator of ancient art, and jointly sponsored by the Art Museums,
Cornell,
and the University of California, Berkeley, continues the Museums'
tradition of active research and practical training in archaeology in a
major dig in Turkey.
The Forbes-Sachs vision inspired many, some of whom became founders or
directors of major museums or leading professors in the field while
others
became major collectors who donated works of art to Harvard and to
museums
in their own community. There are 46 Harvard-educated directors and
curators currently working at other major art museums in the United
States.
There are 18 Directors, 1 Director-CEO, 1 Associate Director-Chief
Curator, 1 President-CEO, 1 Assistant Director, 2 Chairmen, 3 Chief
Curators, 18 Curators, and 1 Associate Curator.
The Harvard University Art Museum's collections comprise over 150,000
objects and form one of the most extensive and important art holdings in
the world. The collections are especially strong in Asian, ancient, and
European art, with a good representation of North American art from the
colonial period to the present. The Drawings Collection is one of the
finest and most comprehensive of its kind in the United States, ranking
in
importance with those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan
Library. The Busch-Reisinger is the only museum of Central and Northern
European art in North America. The collection of ancient Chinese jades
is
the largest single collection in the world, the Korean ceramics
collection
is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and contains the greatest
holdings of archaeological materials outside of Korea, and the collection
of Japanese surimono is regarded among finest in the world.
The collections of pre-Raphaelite, Italian early Renaissance and 19th c.
French paintings rank among the most important in the world, with the
largest holdings of Ingres and Moreau outside of France. The collections
of Persian and Mughal Indian paintings and drawings rank in terms of
quality with those of the British Library, the British Museum, and the
Bibliotheque Nationale.
The Art Museums' original and traditional audience consisted of
undergraduate and graduate students of Harvard University studying the
Fine
Arts. Over time, the collections have grown in depth, breadth, and
significance and our scholarly publications and exhibitions have grown in
ambition and importance. The Art Museums developed a local, national,
and
international audience. Over 85,000 people visit the galleries every
year.
Because of the tradition of service to students, the collections,
including
those not on public display, are extraordinarily accessible to the public
and widely used by faculty in other parts of the University; by students
and faculty of other colleges, universities, and art schools in New
England; by visiting scholars; and by the general public. Any interested
member of the public may make an appointment with the appropriate
curatorial department to view any work in the collections that is not
currently on exhibition. Several departments maintain regular open
hours,
including some on weekends, during which students and any other
interested
persons can visit to view works of art normally in storage. Special
seminars open to the public provide an opportunity for people outside the
University to work closely with important original works of art in the
collections. An active publications program further enhances exposure of
the collections and related research to a broad audience. In addition to
publishing exhibition catalogues, the Art Museums also regularly produce
publications on the permanent collections aimed primarily at a general
audience and students but also valuable to scholars.
Description of the Museum
Harvard University Art Museums
Institutional Profile
Last Modified: Monday, 20-Oct-2008 16:36:48 EDT