
Yale University Art Gallery, shortly after it was renovated
The 'Yale University Art Gallery' houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of
Yale University in
New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early
Italian painting,
African sculpture, and
modern art. Its holdings of
American decorative and fine arts are amongst the best in existence.
History
The Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest college art museum in the
United States. The gallery was founded in
1832, when patriot-artist
John Trumbull donated to
Yale College more than 100
paintings of the
American Revolution.
The gallery's current main building
[1] was among the very first designed by
Louis Kahn, who taught architecture at Yale, and was built in
1953. A complete renovation, which returned many spaces to the way Kahn originally envisioned them, was completed in 2006.
Collection
The Gallery’s encyclopedic collections number more than 100,000 objects ranging in date from ancient times to the present day. The permanent collection includes:
★ African Art
★ American
Decorative Arts
★ American
Paintings and
Sculpture
★
Ancient Art
★ Art of the Ancient Americas
★
Asian Art
★
Coins and
Medals
★ Early
European Art
★
Modern and
Contemporary Art
★
Prints, Drawings, and
Photographs
★ Provenance
In 2005 the gallery announced that it had acquired 1,465 gelatin silver prints by the influential American landscape photographer
Robert Adams.
Mission
The mission of the gallery is to encourage appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art. The Gallery stimulates active learning about art and the creative process through research, teaching, and dialogue among communities of Yale students, faculty, artists, scholars, alumni, and the wider public. The Gallery organizes exhibitions and educational programs to offer enjoyment and encourage inquiry, while building and maintaining its collections in trust for future generations.
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External links
★
Yale University Art Gallery web site
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Yale University web site