- Everson Museum of Art
The Everson Museum of Art, in Downtown
Syracuse, New York , is a majorCentral New York museum focusing on American art.History
The museum was founded in 1897 by art historian
George Fisk Comfort (who also helped found theMetropolitan Museum of Art ); at that time, it was called the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts. In 1911, it announced that it would seek to collect only American art.Over time the museum occupied several different buildings, including the Onondaga Savings Bank and the Syracuse Public Library, but it outgrew each facility.
In 1941,
Helen Everson made a gift to the city of Syracuse for the purpose of erecting an art museum. Agroundbreaking took place in 1965, and in 1968 the new Everson Museum of Art opened. The new building was designed by internationally-acclaimed architectI. M. Pei , and is regarded as a work of art in its own right.The Everson Museum of Art is also a famous location for
skateboarders . Although illegal, onJune 21 , better known asNational Go Skateboarding Day , skateboarders are allowed to skate at the museum. Central New York skateboarders often have signs that say "FREE eVe" meaning free the Everson Museum of Art.Collection
The Everson houses roughly 11,000 pieces of art, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and video.
Paintings include one of
Gilbert Stuart 's portraits ofGeorge Washington ,Edward Hicks 's "The Peaceable Kingdom", and works byEastman Johnson ,Charles Burchfield ,Helen Frankenthaler , and others.The
Syracuse China Center for the Study of Ceramics is one of the largest ceramics collections in the nation, with pieces ranging from ancient sculpture andMing dynasty porcelain up to contemporary works.The museum established one of the first
video art collections in the United States; its video collection is the largest in the world.Nam June Paik exhibited early works at the Everson, including his first United States retrospective in 1974.Bill Viola 's first job was as a video technician at the Everson; his works are now in the collection.The museum also has a collection of
Arts and Crafts Movement furniture, featuring a number of works ofGustav Stickley .Location and opening hours
The museum is located in the southeast corner of
Downtown Syracuse , at 401 Harrison Street, near theOncenter complex. It is directly accessible fromInterstate 81 Exit 18 (Adams Street / Harrison Street).Currently the museum is open the following hours:
* Tuesday - Friday & Sunday: Noon - 5:00pm
* Saturday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
* It is closed on MondaysThe café of the museum is open daily from noon to 2:30pm (except Mondays).
External links
* [http://www.everson.org/ www.everson.org]
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