Taubman Museum of Art
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Taubman Museum of Art
| Taubman Museum of Art | |
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| Established | 1951 |
| Location | Roanoke, Virginia, USA |
| Type | Art museum |
| Public transit access | Valley Metro bus & SmartWay bus to Downtown Roanoke |
| Website | http://www.taubmanmuseum.org/ |
The Taubman Museum of Art, formerly the Art Museum of Western Virginia, is an art museum located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A..
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Location
The Museum was formerly located in Roanoke's Center in the Square , but as of November 2008 has relocated to a new $66-million, 81,000-square-foot (7,500 m2) building designed by Los Angeles, California architect Randall Stout.[1] The new museum is named the Taubman Museum of Art, in honor of Ambassador Nicholas F. Taubman and his wife Jenny, who have been its largest donors.[2]
Collection and exhibits
The Museum's permanent collection focuses on American art, with an emphasis on the artistic expressions of the Western Virginia and the Appalachian region. The collection has included works by Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer and Childe Hassam.[3]
History
The Art Museum of Western Virginia began in 1947 as an offshoot of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, with an exhibition in the Hotel Roanoke. In 1951 this "Roanoke Fine Arts Center" was incorporated as an independent organization. Renamed in 1980 as "Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts," the museum moved to downtown Roanoke's Center in the Square in 1983. In 1992, the Museum was renamed as the "Art Museum of Western Virginia".[4]
A new design for the museum was unveiled on March 20, 2005 by architect Randall Stout with unique design that ignited much debate in the local media. One woman is quoted as saying the design looks like the "wreck of the Flying Nun." The building was initially intended to include space for an IMAX theater but this plan was dropped due to concerns that it might lose money for the museum. Ground was broken on the new museum building in September, 2005. The new art museum president, Heywood Fralin, remarked that the museum would "lead Roanoke and Western Virginia into the future and shape our destiny." Unexpected increases in the cost of building materials led to an increase of the cost of the building from $46 million to $66 million. Looking for other sources of investment to help cover the costs of construction, the museum was renamed the Taubman Museum of Art after receiving a generous donation of $12.5 million from Nicholas Taubman, who is the former chairman and chief executive of Advance Auto Parts. On November 8, 2008, the Taubman Museum of Art opened for business in the newly completed building.[5]
The initial plan was for the museum to become an international venue for art exhibition. These plans have undergone revision as the museum continues to lose money and struggle financially. Consultants had estimated that the museum would take in at least $745,000 each year. In 2010, the museum received $110,000 from admissions. This falls well short of even the annual maintenance costs of the building which are estimated to be around $871,000. Referring to the change of focus away from being an international art venue, Executive Director David Mickenberg, stated at a press event, “I think what really will change is this no longer perceived as a stand alone museum on the corner of Salem and Norfolk. This is an integrated, collaborative organization that works in close proximity to a lot of other cultural organizations, a lot of higher education, a lot of public education as well and I think is a very different model than what we started with.” [6] In February 2011, the City of Roanoke entered in to an agreement with the museum to teach art classes to city school children. In return for the museum's services, the city will pay them $100,000 annually.[7] In February 2011, the museum also reduced its membership prices across the board.[8] In March 2011, the museum also lowered the general admission price from $10.50 to $7. Maria St. Clair, the Taubman membership manager, explained the reduction in admission fee, "We're trying to make it so that more people come through the doors." The museum hopes that the loss in revenue will be more than recovered in increased volume of visitors.[9]
External links
References
- ^ Podger, Pamela J. (2007-12-29), "With Bold Museum, a Virginia City Aims for Visibility", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/us/29roanoke.html
- ^ Kittredge, Kevin (2008-02-07), "New art museum to carry Taubman name", The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/149859, retrieved 2008-02-07
- ^ Stoilas, Helen (2008-02-14), "Roanoke—the next Bilbao?", The Art Newspaper, http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article.asp?id=7489, retrieved 2008-03-10
- ^ History Chronology, Art Museum of Western Virginia, http://www.artmuseumroanoke.org/index.php?do=about:history, retrieved 2008-03-10
- ^ "Museum's Timeline". Taubman Museum of Art. http://rtstories.com/artmuseum/timeline. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ Staff Report (November 11, 2010). "Taubman Museum of Art unveils new plan". WSLS 10. http://www2.wsls.com/news/2010/nov/11/4/taubman-museum-art-unveil-new-plan-tonight-ar-646712/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ Staff Report (February 23, 2011). "Roanoke City leaders to pay Taubman Museum to teach art to kids". WSLS 10. http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/feb/23/roanoke-city-leaders-pay-taubman-museum-teach-art--ar-863261/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ Staff Report (February 15, 2011). "Taubman Museum of Art lowers membership prices". WSLS 10. http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/feb/15/taubman-museum-art-lowers-membership-prices-ar-845792/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ Mike Allen (March 9, 2011). "Taubman Museum of Art slashes admission prices". Roanoke Times. http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/279368. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
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