Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park area of Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened in 1881 and was the first museum built just for art west of the Alleghenies. It is one of the oldest museums in the United States. The museum has more than 67,000 artworks from almost 6,000 years of history.

Early leaders chose between three places for the museum: Burnet Woods, Eden Park, or downtown Cincinnati at Washington Park. Charles West helped pick Eden Park. The beautiful building, designed by James W. McLaughlin, opened in 1886. The building has been changed and added to over the years.

In 2003, a new part called The Cincinnati Wing was added. This area shows art made by or for artists from Cincinnati since 1788. It has fifteen galleries and around 400 artworks. Two famous statues called the Odoardo Fantacchiotti angels are among the largest pieces in the museum’s collection. These angels were made for St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in the late 1840s. The Cincinnati Wing also shows works by artists like Frank Duveneck, pieces from Rookwood Pottery, and furniture by Mitchell & Rammelsberg, plus a tall clock made by Luman Watson.

Today, the museum is part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network, which started in 2021 through the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

History

In the late 1800s, public art museums were a new idea, even in places far west like Cincinnati. After a big exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, a group of women in Cincinnati formed the Women's Art Museum Association to bring an art museum to their city for everyone to enjoy. Their efforts grew, and in 1881, the Cincinnati Museum Association was created. At first, the museum was housed temporarily in Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine.

In 1886, the museum building in Eden Park was officially opened. Over the years, many generous people helped grow the museum's collection. New wings and buildings were added, including the Schmidlapp Wing designed by Daniel Burnham in 1907, and several others in the 1930s. Renovations in the 1940s and 1950s changed the museum's layout, and in 1965, the Adams-Emery wing was completed to hold more art and host events. Major renovations in 1993 restored beautiful details inside the museum and added new space for exhibitions. In 2003, the museum opened the Cincinnati Wing, showing the city's own art history, and removed its general admission fee forever. Today, the museum continues to grow and connect with the community.

Collection

The Cincinnati Art Museum has many beautiful paintings from famous artists. Some of these artists are Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Tintoretto, Frans Hals, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. The museum also shows works by American artist Frank Duveneck.

Workers found a hidden portrait under a painting by Paul Cézanne when they were checking the artwork.

The museum also has a large collection of decorative arts and design pieces by artists such as Paul de Lamerie, Karen LaMonte, Kitaro Shirayamadani, and Jean-Pierre Latz.

Selections from the permanent collection

Here are some famous artworks you can see at the Cincinnati Art Museum:

• Hans Memling created Saint Christopher.

• Andrea Mantegna painted A Sibyl and a Prophet.

• Lucas Cranach the Elder made Saint Helena with the Cross.

• Peter Paul Rubens painted Samson and Delilah.

• Frans Hals created Portrait of a Dutch Family.

• Thomas Gainsborough painted Portrait of Ann Ford.

• Martin Ferdinand Quadal made a Self-portrait.

• John Constable painted Waterloo Bridge.

• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot created Ruins of the Château de Pierrefonds.

• Thomas Buchanan Read painted The Harp of Erin.

• William Adolphe Bouguereau made Girl Eating Porridge.

• Lawrence Alma-Tadema painted Comparison.

• William Merritt Chase created The Mirror.

• Amedeo Modigliani painted Portrait of Max Jacob.

• !Karen LaMonte, Seated Dress Impression with Drapery, 2005

  Karen LaMonte made Seated Dress Impression with Drapery.

• Charles Grafly painted Portrait of Frank Duveneck.

Exhibitions

The Cincinnati Art Museum has many special shows each year. These shows come with fun activities and events for everyone to enjoy. Some past shows include Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America, Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal..., and No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.

Over time, the museum changed how it handles these special shows. It now focuses more on its own collection, like circus posters and modern Dutch design. In 2010, the museum started a series called "See America" with nine small shows showing different parts of the country. Since then, more people have been visiting the museum.

Management

The Cincinnati Art Museum lets everyone in for free to see its art and learn in its family center, thanks to generous donors.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday. It is found at 953 Eden Park Drive in Eden Park.