University of Michigan Museum of Art
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The University of Michigan Museum of Art, or UMMA, as it is known locally, resides in the Alumni Memorial Hall of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall originally housed U-M's Alumni program, although it did store the University's growing art collection.
The Museum was founded and took over the AMH building in 1946. It specializes in European and especially Asian arts and boasts over 16,000 pieces of work, including some by Picasso, Frankenthaler, and Whistler. It is one of the finest University art collections in the country.
In late summer of 2006, UMMA will temporarily close its traditional home in Alumni Memorial Hall in order to begin a restoration and expansion project valued at over $34 million dollars, which will update the existing beaux-arts style building as well as double its size with a new, more modern addition. During this time, the Museum offices will relocate to U-M's Rackham Graduate School building, the art collection will be housed in three separate secure storage facilities, and a temporary exhibition space will be available to the public at the UMMA Off/Site location on South University on U-M's campus. It will return to the finished Alumni Memorial Hall in fall 2008.
