| Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1973 |
| Location | Central & University Avenues, Ithaca, New York |
| Visitor figures | 80,000 |
| Director | Franklin W. Robinson |
| Website | www.museum.cornell.edu |
| Ithaca Discovery Trail | |
| Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art · Sciencenter · Cornell Plantations · Museum of the Earth Cayuga Nature Center · Tompkins County Public Library · The History Center · Cornell Lab of Ornithology | |
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art ("The Johnson Museum") is an art museum located on the northwest corner of the Arts Quad on the main campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is most well known for its distinctive concrete facade, its collection which includes two windows from Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House, and more than 32,000 other works. The Museum hosts over 80,000 visitors every year and presents over 20 special exhibitions annually.[1]
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President Deane Waldo Malott established the original University Art Museum in 1953. The A. D. White House was renovated to house Cornell's art collections.[2] The current museum, constructed in 1973, is named after its primary benefactor, Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr., a Cornell Class of 1922 graduate, head of S.C. Johnson & Sons of Racine, Wisconsin ("Johnson Wax"), and a former member of the university's Board of Trustees.
The Johnson Museum of Art was designed by architect I.M. Pei. It can be characterized by its fifth floor, which cantilever over the open aired sculpture garden. It was designed so that it would not block the view of Cayuga Lake, and offers a panoramic view of the same from its north and west sides. It also houses a room for meetings on the sixth floor, which was used for many years by Cornell's Board of Trustees.
The unique location of the museum presented several architectural challenges; building space was limited, and it could not overwhelm the view of Cayuga Lake or the nearby Arts Quad. Moreover, it would sit atop the knoll where tradition said Ezra Cornell chose the site for his university, at the north end of the Stone Row of McGraw, Morrill, and White Halls.[3] The design sought to visually terminate the north end of Library Slope.[3] The resulting design was a narrow tower and a bridge, which critics have likened to a giant sewing machine.[4]
One element of the original design, which was never constructed, was an underground Asian art gallery which would have included windows breaching the Southern face of Fall Creek Gorge.[3]
The building was awarded the American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 1975.[3] The building's design also appeared on the cover of Scientific American as an early example of computer graphics.
To meet the needs of the expanding collection, Cornell will construct a new wing next to the original building. The extension will mirror the original plans drawn up by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, and is expected to be completed by 2011.[5] The architect in charge was John L. Sullivan III, Cornell Class of 1962.[6] The 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2) project costs $22 million, which includes some renovations to the main building, and is funded by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Kresge Foundation.[6] The Asian art storage area is relocated from the center of the fifth floor to the lower level of the addition, which will permit an expansion of public gallery space on the fifth floor.[7] Galleries in the new wing will be used to display contemporary art.[6] The upper level of the addition includes an outdoor Japanese Garden. Although the original plans called for the addition to tunnel under Campus Road and penetrate the wall of the Fall Creek gorge, that plan was dropped out of environmental concerns.[7]
The permanent collection consists of more than 32,000 works of art.[6] Most notable is the George and Mary Rockwell Asian Art collection. There are also extensive holdings of American artists, including Stuart Davis and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as members of the Hudson River School and the American Impressionists to contemporary art. The Collection of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs consists of more than 15,000 works, including works by Berenice Abbott, Robert Frank, Alfred Stieglitz, and Garry Winogrand..[8] Its fifth floor observation level houses the museum's extensive Asian collection. The permanent collection also includes works from Africa, pre-Columbian America, and Oceania, ranging from ancient to contemporary societies,[8]
Although for-credit classes are conducted by Cornell's academic departments rather than the museum, The museum does provide curriculum-structured gallery sessions for specific classes. It also hosts faculty-conducted gallery tours and course-related exhibitions.[9] The museum also hosts thematic tours for local school student field trips,[10] and draws 7,000 schoolchildren visitors annually.[1] The Johnson Museum Club is a Cornell student group that promotes student awareness of the Johnson Museum's vast collections, exhibitions, and resources. It hosts hosts concerts, scavenger hunts and other events.[11]