Dahesh Museum of Art

Dahesh Museum of Art
Established	1995
Location	Traveling Collection
Director	Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
Website	Dahesh Museum of Art

The Dahesh Museum of Art is the only museum in the United States devoted to the collection and exhibition of European academic art of the 19th and 20th century. The collection originated with Lebanese writer, humanist, and philosopher Saleem Moussa Ashi (1909–1984), whose pen name was Dr. Dahesh. The core of the museum's exhibit is Dr. Dahesh's collection of more than 2,000 academic paintings created in a style that struggled for years to compete with Impressionism.^[1] The museum has been without a home since 2008 with the collection available online and in a traveling exhibition.

History

The museum's creation stems from the Zahid Family's inheritance of Dr. Dahesh's collection upon his death. Five members of the family serve on the Museum's Board and chose to creation the museum in Manhattan rather than Lebanon due to the challenges of the city's art community.^[1] The Museum was incorporated in 1987 and opened officially in 1995 at an 1,800-square-foot (170 m²) gallery on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It struggled in the early years, due in part to the relatively obscure nature of its founder's legacy,^[2] and the perception of illustration as an art form.^[3] Despite the struggles, the museum attracted an annual attendance of about 20,000 people and it was able to amass a $30m endowment in a little more than five years, rivaling that of the Guggenheim Museum.^[1]

In September 2003, it opened in a new 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) space at 580 Madison Avenue and 56th street three years after an unsuccessful bid on a Columbus Circle property^[1] and a year after the new location was announced.^[4] This property, the former IBM Gallery, was completely redesigned by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates.^[5]

Although the museum moved out of the space on Madison Avenue in January 2008,^[6] due to rent related issues that caused it to look for a subletter for the remainder of its lease,^[7] the collection continues to travel throughout New York City and the world^[8] and the website has been redesigned in order to make the collection virtual.^[9] The museum hopes to find a new permanent home in Manhattan, although it has considered other locations in the area.^[7]

See also

• Art Renewal Center

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Doreen Carvajal (2000-08-09). "The Little Museum That Could; Dahesh Tries to Shake Founder's Mystical Image and Move into the Mainstream". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E5DF1E3CF93AA3575BC0A9669C8B63. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
2. ^ "What is Strange About the Dahesh Museum?". New Criterion. 2003-12-01. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2879293_ITM. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
3. ^ Ken Johnson (2006-04-13). "Illustrations by American Artists at the Dahesh Museum". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/arts/design/13dahe.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
4. ^ "Dahesh Museum Relocates". Art in America. 2002-11-01. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-26650741_ITM. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
5. ^ Barrymore Laurence Scherer (2003-09-09). "It's Academic: Thriving, the Dahesh Museum Moves to a New Site". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB106307546636068000.html?mod=googlewsj. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
6. ^ Lita Solis-Cohen. "Bonhams Expands in New York City". Maine Antique Digest. http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/?id=567. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Peter Edidin (2007-08-21). "A Museum in Search of a Home". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/arts/21arts.html?ref=arts&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
8. ^ "Director's Letter". Dahesh Museum of Art. 2008-01. http://www.daheshmuseum.org/press/pdf/director-letter.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-12. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Carol Vogel (2007-09-14). "Dahesh Shutting Down". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/arts/design/14voge.html?pagewanted=print. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 

External links

• The Dahesh Museum