The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in

Midtown Detroit Midtown Detroit is a mixed-use area consisting of a business district, cultural center, a major research university, and several residential neighborhoods; it is located along the east and west side of M-1 (Michigan highway), Woodward Avenue, nor ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, has one of the

largest Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...

and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added . The DIA collection is regarded as among the top six museums in the United States with an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to contemporary art. Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

according to a 2014 appraisal. The DIA campus is located in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

's Cultural Center Historic District, about north of the downtown area, across from the Detroit Public Library near Wayne State University. The museum building is highly regarded by architects. The original building, designed by

Paul Philippe Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylv ...

, is flanked by north and south wings with the white marble as the main exterior material for the entire structure. The campus is part of the city's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The museum's first painting was donated in 1883 and its collection consists of over 65,000 works. With about 677,500 visitors annually for 2015, the DIA is among the most visited art museums in the world. The Detroit Institute of Arts hosts major art exhibitions; it contains a 1,150-seat theatre designed by architect C. Howard Crane, a 380-seat hall for recitals and lectures, an art reference library, and a conservation services laboratory.

Collections

DSC05996 Howdy Doody at DIA by Volkan Yuksel

The museum contains 100 galleries of art from around the world.

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

's ''

Detroit Industry The ''Detroit Industry Murals'' (1932–1933) are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company and in Detroit. Together they surround the interior Rivera ...

'' cycle of frescoes span the upper and lower levels to surround the central grand marble court of the museum. The armor collection of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

lines the main hall entry way to the grand court. The collection of American art at the DIA is one of the most impressive, and officials at the DIA have ranked the American paintings collection third among museums in the United States. Works by American artists began to be collected immediately following the museum's founding in 1883. Today the collection is a strong survey of American history, with acknowledged masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture and decorative arts from the 18th century, 19th century, and 20th century, with contemporary American art in all media also being collected. The breadth of the collection includes such American artists as John James Audubon, George Bellows,

George Caleb Bingham George Caleb Bingham (March 20, 1811 – July 7, 1879) was an American artist, soldier and politician known in his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist". Initially a Whig, he was elected as a delegate to the Missouri legislature before the American C ...

Alexander Calder Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and hi ...

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...

, Dale Chihuly, Frederic Edwin Church,

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history painti ...

, John Singleton Copley,

Robert Colescott Robert H. Colescott (August 26, 1925 – June 4, 2009) was an American painter. He is known for satirical genre and crowd subjects, often conveying his exuberant, comical, or bitter reflections on being African American. He studied with Fernand L ...

, Leon Dabo, Thomas Wilmer Dewing,

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...

, Martin Lewis,

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

Rembrandt Peale Rembrandt Peale (February 22, 1778 – October 3, 1860) was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Peale's style w ...

, Tom Phardel,

Duncan Phyfe Duncan Phyfe (1768 – 16 August 1854) was one of nineteenth-century America's leading cabinetmakers. Although he did not create a new furniture style, he interpreted fashionable European trends in a manner so distinguished and particular that ...

Hiram Powers Hiram Powers (July 29, 1805 – June 27, 1873) was an American neoclassical sculptor. He was one of the first 19th-century American artists to gain an international reputation, largely based on his famous marble sculpture ''The Greek Slave''. ...

, Sharon Que,

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Stat ...

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to a ...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trav ...

, John Singer Sargent,

John French Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known ...

, Tony Smith, Marylyn Dintenfass, Gilbert Stuart,

Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 – January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (, ), was a French surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy, the son of a retired navy captain, was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in Fren ...

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, William T. Williams, Anne Wilson,

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

, and James McNeill Whistler. The early 20th century was a period of prolific collecting for the museum, which acquired such works as a dragon tile relief from the

Ishtar Gate The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was pa ...

of Babylon, an Egyptian relief of Mourning Women and a statuette of a Seated Scribe, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's ''The Wedding Dance'', '' Saint Jerome in His Study'' by Jan van Eyck and Giovanni Bellini's ''Madonna and Child''. Early purchases included French paintings by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

, Odilon Redon,

Eugène Boudin Eugène Louis Boudin (; 12 July 18248 August 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, summary ...

, and Edgar Degas, as well as Old Masters including

Gerard ter Borch Gerard ter Borch (; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (), was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu, Gerrit Dou, Eglon van der Neer and Johann ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

, Albrecht Dürer and

Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...

. The museum includes works by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

including a self-portrait. The self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh and ''The Window'' by

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

were purchased in 1922 and were the first paintings by these two artists to enter an American public collection. Later important acquisitions include Hans Holbein the Younger's ''Portrait of a Woman'',

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

's '' Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket'', and works by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, Auguste Rodin,

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux en ...

and

François Rude François Rude (4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the ''Departure of the Volunteers'', also known as ''La Marseillaise'' on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic the ...

. German Expressionism was embraced and collected early on by the DIA, with works by

Heinrich Campendonk Heinrich Mathias Ernst Campendonk (3 November 1889 – 9 May 1957) was a painter and graphic designer born in Germany who became a naturalized Dutch citizen. Life Campendonk was born in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was the ...

, Franz Marc,

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (Karl Schmidt until 1905; 1 December 1884 – 10 August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke. Life and work Schmidt-Rottluff was born in R ...

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. In the 1920s ...

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878, Karlsruhe – 3 April 1955, Berlin) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressioni ...

Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of th ...

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Sec ...

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the war made hi ...

Georg Kolbe Georg Kolbe (15 April 1877 – 20 November 1947) was a German sculptor. He was the leading German figure sculptor of his generation, in a vigorous, modern, simplified classical style similar to Aristide Maillol of France. Early life and educa ...

Wilhelm Lehmbruck Wilhelm Lehmbruck (4 January 188125 March 1919) was a German sculptor. Biography Born in Meiderich (part of Duisburg from 1905), he was the fourth of eight children born to the miner Wilhelm Lehmbruck and his wife Margaretha. He was able to stu ...

Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group ''Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer ...

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century ...

Paula Modersohn-Becker Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th century. Her work is noted for its intensity and its blunt, unapologetic humanity, and for the many self-portraits th ...

, and

Max Pechstein Hermann Max Pechstein (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and a member of the Die Brücke group. He fought on the Western Front during World War I and his art was classified as Degenerate Ar ...

in the collection. Non-German artists in the Expressionist movement include

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

and Edvard Munch. ''

The Nut Gatherers ''The Nut Gatherers'' (''Les Noisettes'', literally, ''The Hazelnuts'') is an 1882 oil painting by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It is one of the most popular pieces at the Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts ...

'' by

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

is, by some accounts, the most popular painting in the collection. In addition to the American and European works listed above, the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts are generally encyclopedic and extensive, including ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian material, as well as a wide range of Islamic, African and Asian art of all media. In December 2010, the museum debuted a new permanent gallery with special collections of hand, shadow, and string puppets along with programmable lighting and original backgrounds. The museum plans to feature puppet related events and rotation of exhibits drawn from its puppet collections.

List of exhibitions

Artists’ Take on Detroit: Projects for the Tricentennial (October 19, 2001 – December 28, 2001) This exhibit celebrates Detroit's 300th anniversary by creating 10 projects that represent the city. The installations created by 15 artists include video and still photography, text and sound, and sculptures. This exhibit includes the following: Altar Mary by Petah Coyne, Strange Früt: Rock Apocrypha by Destroy All Monsters Collective, Traces of Then and Now by Lorella Di Cintio and Jonsara Ruth, Fast Forward, Play Back by Ronit Eisenbach and Peter Sparling, Riches of Detroit: Faces of Detroit by Deborah Grotfeldt and Tricia Ward, Open House by Tyree Guyton, A Persistence of Memory by Michael Hall, Relics by Scott Hocking and Clinton Snider, Blackout by Mike Kelley, Voyageurs by Joseph Wesner. Art in Focus: Celadons (January 16 – April 14) Green-glazed ceramics, also known as celadon ware, created by Suzuki Sansei are on display in each of the Asian galleries. Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (February 24, 2002 – May 19, 2002) The exhibit contains work of the African American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), and includes never before seen pieces from the ''Migration'' and the ''John Brown'' series. Degas and the Dance (October 20, 2002 – January 12, 2003) This exhibit includes more than 100 pieces of work created by Edgar Degas. These pieces include model stage sets, costume designs, and photographs of the dancers from the 19th-century Parisian ballet. Magnificenza! The Medici, Michelangelo and The Art of Late Renaissance Florence (March 16, 2003 – June 8, 2003) The exhibit displays art of the cultural successes of the first four Medici grand dukes of Tuscany during 1537–1631, along with their connection with Michelangelo and his art in the Late Renaissance Florence. When Tradition Changed: Modernist Masterpieces at the DIA (June 2003 – August 2003) This exhibit only contains pieces from the DIA's collection from the late 19th-century and early 20th-century and displays the different choices artists expressed themselves after 1900. Then and Now: A selection of 19th- and 20th-Century Art by African American Artists (July 2003 – August 2003) Roughly 40 objects in this exhibit, organized by the General Motors Center for African American Art, display the artistic styles of African American artists during the past two hundred years. This exhibit includes work from Joshua Johnson, Robert Scott Duncanson,

, Augusta Savage, Benny Andrews, Betye Saar, Richard Hunt,

Sam Gilliam Sam Gilliam ( ; November 30, 1933 – June 25, 2022) was an American color field painter and lyrical abstractionist artist. Gilliam was associated with the Washington Color School, a group of Washington, D.C.-area artists that developed a form ...

, and

Lorna Simpson Lorna Simpson (born August 13, 1960) is an American photographer and multimedia artist. She came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s with artworks such as ''Guarded Conditions'' and ''Square Deal''. Simpson is most well-known for her work in c ...

. Allie McGhee, Naomi Dickerson, Lester Johnson, Shirley Woodson, and Charles McGee are some of the Detroit artists that were included in the installation. Art in Focus: Buddhist Sculpture (Through July 14, 2003) This exhibit contains one Buddhist sculpture in each of the Asian galleries. These sculptures symbolize enlightenment, selflessness, wisdom and tranquility. Yoko Ono's Freight Train (September 17, 2003 – July 19, 2005) ''Freight Train'', constructed by Yoko Ono in 1999, is a German boxcar with bullet holes and is set on a section of railroad track displayed outdoors. Art in Focus: Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid Lacquer (Through October 13, 2003) This exhibit contains lacquer wares made from sap of lacquer trees. Style of the Century: Selected Works from the DIA's Collection (Through October 27, 2003) Some Fluxus: From the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Foundation (Through October 28, 2008) The exhibit contains works from the Fluxus group, named by artist and provocateur George Maciunas. Dance of the Forest Spirits: A Set of Native American Masks at the DIA (Through October 6, 2003) Wooden masks made in the 1940s to represent the spirit world made by the Kwakwaka’wakw (Native Americans of the Northwest coast) are displayed in the exhibit, along with interactive videos, listening stations, and computer activities. Dawoud Bey: Detroit Portraits (April 4, 2004 – August 1, 2004) Dawoud Bey's work created during a five-week residency at Chadsey High School includes large-format, color photographic portraits along with a video of students from Chadsey High School is displayed in this exhibit. Selected artwork of students from writing and art workshops that are conducted by Bey and the art faculty at Chadsey and conduct discussion will also be displayed. Pursuits and Pleasures: Baroque Paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts (April 10, 2004 – July 4, 2004) Pieces of work by Aelbert Cuyp, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Jacob van Ruisdael, Mathieu le Nain, Claude Lorrain, Gerard Ter Borch, Frans Snyders, and Thomas Gainsborough are displayed in this exhibit, organized by the Kresge Art Museum, the Dennos Museum Center, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art, along with the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Etching Revival in Europe: Late Nineteenth- and Early- Twentieth Century French and British Prints (May 26, 2004 – September 19, 2004) Examples of etching work of James McNeill Whistler, Francis Seymour Haden, Charles Meryon, Édouard Manet, Jean-François Millet, and Frank Brangwyn are displayed in this exhibit. The Photography of Charles Sheeler: American Modernist (September 8, 2004 – December 5, 2004) Prints from Charles Sheeler's major series are displayed in this exhibit, including images of his house and barns in Doylestown, Pennsylvania captured in 1916 and 1917; stills from the 1920 film Manhatta; photographs of Chartres Cathedral taken in 1929; and images of American industry created in the 1930s for Fortune magazine. Also displayed are Sheeler's views from the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge complex commissioned by Edsel Ford in 1927. Murano: Glass From the Olnick Spanu Collection (December 12, 2004 – February 27, 2005) The exhibit displays about 300 Venetian blown glass pieces made in the 20th-century, organized in chronological order. Gerard ter Borch (February 27, 2005 – May 22, 2005) The exhibit contains paintings of the 17th-century Dutch life created by Gerard ter Borch. Beyond Big: Oversized Prints, Drawings and Photographs (March 16, 2005 – July 31, 2005) The exhibit displays large prints, drawings, and photographs by Abelardo Morrell, Anna Gaskell, Jenny Gage, Justin Kurland, Gregory Crewdson, Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenber, Judy Pfaff, Charles Burchfield, and others. Sixty-Eighth Annual Detroit Public Schools Student Exhibitions (April 9, 2005 – May 14, 2005) Kindergarten through 12th grade students will have their work displayed at the Detroit Public Library because of renovations at the DIA. This exhibit contains hundreds of ceramics, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and videos. Camille Claudel and Rodin: Fateful Encounter (October 9, 2005 – February 5, 2006) The exhibit contains work by Auguste Rodin and Camille Claude. Sixty-two sculptures by Claudel and fifty-eight by Rodin created before the two artists met along with sculptures created during the good and bad years of their relationship are displayed. Some works created by Claudel that will be displayed include ''Sakuntala'', ''The Waltz'', ''La Petite Châtelain'', ''The Age of Maturity'', ''The Wave'', and ''Vertumnus and Pomona''. Works of Rodin that will be displayed include ''Bust of Camille Claudel'', ''Saint John the Baptist Preaching'', ''Balzac'', and ''The Gates of Hell''. African American Art from the Walter O. Evans Collection (April 9, 2006 – July 2, 2006) Selected pieces in various media from Walter O. Evan's private collection will be displayed in the exhibit. Work by African American artists during the 19th and 20th centuries including Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edmonia Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence will be displayed as well. Sixty-Ninth Annual Detroit Public Schools Student Exhibit (April 20, 2006 – May 14, 2006) Kindergarten through 12th grade students will have their work displayed at the Detroit Public Library because of renovations at the DIA. This exhibit contains ceramics, drawings, collages, jewelry, and more. Recent Acquisitions: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs (May 17, 2006 – July 31, 2006) The exhibit contains works from the 1500s through the 2000s including prints by artists such as Giorgio Ghisi, Judy Pfaff, Terry Winters, and drawings by Adolph Menzel, and Stephen Talasnik. Work by early 20th-century photographers by Edwin Hale Lincoln, Alvin Langdon Coburn, and Tina Modotti are displayed. Work by contemporary artists Larry Fink, Candida Hofer, and Kiraki Sawi are also displayed. The Big Three in Printmaking: Dürer, Rembrandt and Picasso (September 13, 2006 – December 31, 2006) The exhibit features work of Dürer in the early 16th century, Rembrandt in the mid-17th century, and Picasso in the 20th century made of various media including wood and linoleum cuts, engraving, etching, aquatint, drypoint and lithography. Annie Leibovitz: American Music (September 24, 2006 – January 7, 2007) Annie Leibovitz's photographs of legends of roots music and younger artists influenced by them are displayed in the exhibit. Seventy portraits of hers are displayed in the exhibit, including B.B. King, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Willie Nelson, Pete Seeger, Etta James, Dolly Parton, Beck and Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Aretha Franklin, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, and The White Stripes. Ansel Adams (March 4, 2007 – May 27, 2007) The exhibit contains over 100 black and white photographs taken by Ansel Adams ranging from the early 1900s to the 1960s. This exhibit contains photographs of landscapes, Pueblo Indians, mountain views, along with portraits of his friends Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, and Edward Weston. Seventieth Annual Detroit Public Schools Student Exhibition (March 31, 2007 – May 5, 2007) Kindergarten through 12th grade students will have their work displayed at the Detroit Public Library because of renovations at the DIA. This exhibit contains ceramics, drawings, collages, jewelry, and more. The Best of the Best: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs from the DIA Collection (November 23, 2007 – March 2, 2008) The DIA has chosen over 100 of the "best" prints, drawings, and photographs out of the museums 35,000 pieces of work to be displayed in the exhibit. Some pieces that will be displayed are Michelangelo's double-sided chalk and pen and ink drawing of 1508 showing decoration schemes for the Sistine Chapel ceiling; ''Russet Landscape'' by Edgar Degas from the 1890s; and ''Wheels'' by Charles Sheeler in 1939.

Architecture

Before 1920, a commission was established to choose an architect to design a new building to house the DIA's expanding collections. The commission included DIA President Ralph H. Booth, William J. Gray, architect Albert Kahn and industrialist

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

. W.R. Valentiner, the museum director, acted as art director and Clyde H. Burroughs was the secretary. The group chose

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

architect

as the lead architect and the firm of

Zantzinger, Borie and Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

as associated architects, with Detroit architectural firms of Albert Kahn and C. Howard Crane contributing "advice and suggestions." The cornerstone for new Beaux-Arts,

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

styled building was laid June 26, 1923 and the finished museum was dedicated October 7, 1927. In 1922,

Horace Rackham Horace H. Rackham (June 27, 1858 – June 12, 1933) was one of the original stockholders in the Ford Motor Company and a noted philanthropist. Early life Rackham was born in Harrison, Michigan.Ross, Robert Budd; Catlin; George Byron, and Burt ...

donated a casting of Auguste Rodin's sculpture, ''

The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (french: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic size sitting on a rock. He is seen leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left t ...

'', acquired from a German collection, to the museum where it was exhibited while the new building was under construction. The work was placed in the Great Hall of the new museum building. Sometime in the subsequent years the work was moved out of the building and placed on a pedestal in front of the building, facing

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

and the Detroit Public Library across the street which was also constructed of white marble in the Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance style . Gothic Chapel, Detroit Institute of Arts

Gothic Chapel, Detroit Institute of Arts

The south and north wings were added in 1966 and 1971 respectively. Both were designed by

Gunnar Birkerts Gunnar Birkerts ( lv, Gunārs Birkerts, January 17, 1925 – August 15, 2017) was a Latvian American architect who, for most of his career, was based in the metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan. Some of his notable designs include the Corni ...

and were originally faced in black granite to serve as a backdrop for the original white marble building. The south wing was later named in honor of museum benefactors Edsel and Eleanor Ford and the north wing for Jerome Cavanaugh who was Detroit Mayor during the expansion. The building also incorporates a 16th-century French Gothic chapel, donated by Ralph H. Booth. William Edward Kapp, architect for the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls has been credited with interior design work on the

Detroit Institute of Art The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project complete ...

Artwork

commissioned murals by

for DIA in 1932. Composed in fresco style, the five sets of massive murals are known collectively as '' Detroit Industry, or Man and Machine''. The murals were added to a large central courtyard; it was roofed over when the work was executed. The Diego Rivera murals are widely regarded as great works of art and a unique feature of the museum. Architect Henry Sheply, a close friend of Cret's would write: "These

urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

are harsh in color, scale and composition. They were designed without the slightest thought given to the delicate architecture and ornament. They are quite simply a travesty in the name of art." Their politically charged themes of proletariat struggle caused lasting friction between admirers and detractors. During the

McCarthy era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

, the murals survived only by means of a prominent sign which identified them as legitimate art; the sign further asserted unambiguously that the political motivations of the artist were "detestable". Today the murals are celebrated as one of the DIA's finest assets, and even "one of America's most significant monuments". The building also contains intricate iron work by Samuel Yellin, tile from

Pewabic Pottery Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic studio and school in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1903, the studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Imma ...

, and architectural sculpture by

Leon Hermant Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Renovation and expansion

In November 2007, the Detroit Institute of Arts building completed a renovation and expansion at a total cost of $158 million. Architects for the renovation included the Driehaus Prize winner

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Gr ...

and associates along with the SmithGroup. The project, labeled the ''Master Plan Project'', included expansion and renovation of the north and south wings as well as restoration of the original Paul Cret building, and added 58,000 additional square feet, bringing the total to 658,000 square feet. The renovated exterior of the north and south wings was refaced with white marble acquired from the same quarry as the marble on the main building designed by Paul Cret. The major renovation of the Detroit Institute of Arts has provided a significant example of study for museum planning, function, direction, and design.

History

The Museum had its genesis in an 1881 tour of Europe made by local newspaper magnate James E. Scripps. Scripps kept a journal of his family's five-month tour of art and culture in Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, portions of which were published in his newspaper ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''. The series proved so popular that it was republished in book form called ''Five Months Abroad''. The popularity inspired William H. Brearley, the manager of the newspaper's advertising department to organize an art exhibit in 1883, which was also extremely well received. Brearly convinced many leading Detroit citizens to contribute to establish a permanent museum. It was originally named the Detroit Museum of Art. Among the donors were James E. Scripps, his brother George H. Scripps, Dexter M. Ferry,

Christian H. Buhl Christian H. Buhl (May 9, 1810 – January 23, 1894) was a businessman and industrialist from Detroit, Michigan. He served as the city's mayor in 1860-61. Biography Christian Henry Buhl was born in Zelienople, Pennsylvania on May 9, 1810. ...

, Gen. Russell A. Alger,

Moses W. Field Moses Wheelock Field (February 10, 1828 – March 14, 1889) was a businessman and politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Michigan, and was instrumental in organizing the Indepen ...

James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to: Sportspeople * James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland * James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St ...

and Hugh McMillan, George H. Hammond, James F. Joy, Francis Palms, Christopher R. Mabley, Simon J. Murphy, John S. Newberry, Cyrenius A. Newcomb, Sr., Thomas W. Palmer, Philo Parsons, George B. Remick, Allan Shelden, William C. Weber, David Whitney Jr., George V. N. Lothrop, and Hiram Walker. Institute of Arts (NBY 5883)

With much success from their first exhibit, Brearley then challenged 40 of Detroit's leading and prominent businessmen to contribute $1,000 each to help fund the building of a permanent museum. With $50,000 coming from Scripps alone, their goal was within reach. By 1888, Scripps and Brearley had incorporated Detroit Museum of Arts, filling it with over 70 pieces of artwork acquired by Scripps during his time in Europe. Lasting as a museum less than 40 years, the impact the museum had on the city of Detroit was tremendous. The Art Loan Exhibition's success in 1883 had led to the creation of a board. The purpose of the board was to raise and establish funds to build a permanent art museum in the city. Donating money to the cause were some of Detroit's biggest names, including James E. Scripps, George H. Scripps,

Russell A. Alger Russell Alexander Alger (February 27, 1836 – January 24, 1907) was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 20th Governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War. He was supposedly a distant relation of author H ...

, and Sen. Thomas Palmer. The old Detroit Museum of Art building opened in 1888 at 704 E. Jefferson Avenue (it was finally demolished in 1960). The Detroit Museum of Art board of trustees changed the name to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1919 and a committee began raising funds to build a new location with Scripps still at the helm. The present DIA building on Woodward Avenue debuted on October 7, 1927. While not officially declared the founder of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Scripps and Brearley were indeed the founders of the DIA's predecessor, The Detroit Museum of Art. With the success of the arts, and the booming auto industry, families were flocking to the city; pushing for the need to expand the vision that Scripps had originally dreamed, a new building was raised and the DIA was born. Another decision in 1919 that would have a lasting impact on the future of the museum was transferring ownership to the City of Detroit with the museum becoming a city department and receiving operating funds. The board of trustees became the Founder's Society a private support group that provided additional money for acquisitions and other museum needs. The museum sought the leadership of German art scholar

Wilhelm Valentiner William Reinhold Valentiner (May 2, 1880 – September 6, 1958) was a German-American art historian, art critic and museum administrator. He was educated and trained in Europe, first working at the Mauritshuis in The Hague and at museums in Berli ...

. It as under Valentiner's leadership as director that, the museum flush with money from a booming city and wealthy patrons, the size and quality of the DIA's collections grew significantly. The DIA became the first U.S. museum to acquire a van Gogh and Matisse in 1922 and Valentiner's relationship with German expressionist led to significant holdings of early Modernist art. Valentiner also reorganized how art was displayed at the museum. Breaking with the tradition of organizing artworks by their type with, for example, painting grouped together in one gallery and sculpture in another. Valentiner organized them by nation and chronology, this was recognized as being so revolutionary that the 1929 Encyclopædia Britannica used an illustration of the main floor plan of the DIA as an example of the perfect modern art museum. Detroit Museum of Arts 1888

Support for the museum came from Detroit philanthropists such as

Charles Lang Freer Charles Lang Freer (February 25, 1854 – September 25, 1919) was an American industrialist, art collector, and patron. He is known for his large collection of East Asian, American, and Middle Eastern Art. In 1906, Freer donated his extensive col ...

, and the auto barons: art and funds were donated by the Dodges, the Firestones and the Fords, especially

and his wife Eleanor, and subsequently their children. Robert Hudson Tannahill of the

Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest ...

Department Store family, was a major benefactor and supporter of the museum, donating many works during his lifetime. At his death in 1970, he bequeathed a large European art collection, which included works by

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, Edgar Degas,

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Constantin Brâncuși, important works of German Expressionism, a large collection of

African art African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the ...

, and an endowment for future acquisitions for the museum. Part of the current support for the museum comes from the state government in exchange for which the museum conducts statewide programs on art appreciation and provides

art conservation The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include prev ...

services to other museums in Michigan. Master of the Osservanza - The Resurrection - WGA14606

In 1949, the museum was among the first to return a work that had been looted by the Nazis, when it returned

's ''The Seine at Asnières'' to its rightful owner. The art dealer from whom they had purchased it reimbursed the museum. In 2002, the museum discovered that

Ludolf Backhuysen Ludolf BakhuizenLudolf Bakhuizen
at the

’s "Les Becheurs (The Diggers)" (1889), the museum successfully asserted that Michigan's three-year statute of limitations precluded the court or a jury from deciding the merits of the case. "Report Concerning Current Approaches of United States Museums To Holocaust Era Art Claims"
June 25, 2015. ''World Jewish Restitution Organization''. The museum was expanded with a south and north wing in 1966 and 1971, respectively, giving space for the museum to receive two big gifts in 1970, the collection of Robert Tannahill and

Anna Thompson Dodge Anna Thompson Dodge (7 August 1866 – 2 June 1970) was a Scottish-American socialite and philanthropist, one of the richest women in the world at the time of her death. Life and family She was born on 7 August 1866 in Dundee, Scotland, as Ann ...

bequeathed the 18th-century French contents of the music room from her home, Rose Terrace, to the museum upon her death. As the fortunes of the city declined in the 1970s and 80s so did its ability to support the DIA. In 1975, even with reduced staff, the city was forced to close the museum for three weeks in June. The State of Michigan provided funding to reopen and over this time period the state would play an increasing role in funding the museum. A 1976 gift of $1 million from Eleanor Ford created the Department of African, Oceanic and New World Cultures. By 1990, 70 percent of the DIA's funding was coming from the State of Michigan, that year the state facing a recession and budget deficit cut funding by more than 50 percent. This resulted in the museum having to close galleries and reduce hours, a fundraising campaign led by Joseph L. Hudson was able to restore operations. In 1998, the Founder's Society signed an operating agreement with the City of Detroit that would have the Founder's Society operating as Detroit Institute of Arts, Inc take over management of the museum from the Art Department with the city retaining ownership of the DIA itself. On February 24, 2006, a 12-year-old boy stuck a piece of chewing gum on

Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...

's 1963 abstract work ''The Bay'', leaving a small stain. The painting was valued at $1.5 million in 2005, and is one of Frankenthaler's most important works. The museum's conservation lab successfully cleaned and restored the painting, which was returned to the gallery in late June 2006. As part of the settlement of the City of Detroit's bankruptcy, ownership of the museum was transferred to Detroit Institute of Arts, Inc., in December 2014, returning the museum to its pre-1919 status as an independent non-profit.

Gallery

Governance

Director

The current director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Salvador Salort-Pons a native of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

was previously head of the European Art Department at the DIA. Before coming to the DIA he was senior curator at the

Meadows Museum The Meadows Museum, nicknamed "Prado on the Prairie", is a two-story, 66,000 sq. ft.art museum in Dallas, Texas on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU). Operating as a division of SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, the museum houses one ...

at SMU and prior to that an assistant professor of art history at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...

. Salort-Pons holds a doctorate in art history from the Royal Spanish College at Italy's University of Bologna and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. On September 16, 2015, Salort-Pons was named as director following the retirement of Graham Beal in June.

Criticism of Salort-Pons

Despite the increase in yearly visitors to the DIA, there is criticism that Salort-Pons is straying away from the “visitor-centered” philosophy pioneered by predecessor Graham Beal. Under this philosophy, the museum would make the art and interpretations of art more accessible to the general public to help them learn and connect with the pieces on display. Salort-Pons’ Spanish origin has made critics believe he is unable to understand and tackle the complexity of issues surrounding race, inclusivity, and representation in the United States. The New York Times reported that Salort-Pons was taking steps to improve diversity despite his limited understanding of the Black struggle in America. In an interview with Artnet News, Salort-Pons said the commitment to improve diversity in the DIA included “implementing diversity and community engagement initiatives as well as hiring qualified POC candidates. However, several POC candidates who were hired by Salort-Pons, such as Lucy Mensah, assistant curator of contemporary art in 2017, resigned due to a “toxic work environment” and believed they were “token hires” because the DIA “premise some of their hires as a way of diversifying the voices of the institution, but at the same time they don’t actually appreciate those voices.” Controversy Over 2019 "Humble and Human" Exhibition Calls for greater racial sensitivity and honest interpretations of art suitable for young patrons came after Paul Gauguin's painting “Spirit of the Dead Watching” was included in the multi-gallery show. The painting depicted a 13-year-old Tahitian girl named Teha’amana, who Gauguin took as his wife, naked on a bed. Gauguin was 44 years old. In June 2020, former DIA digital experience designer Andrea Montiel de Shuman, a Mexican woman, published an essay online announcing her resignation, citing “Spirit of the Dead Watching” as an example of the museum's sub-par engagement with nonwhite audiences. Montiel de Shuman claimed the artworks’ label did not address the possibility that the artist sexually abused her, gave her syphilis, and colonized her home. Montiel de Shuman, in an email to the ''Detroit Free Press'', said “ asked how the DIA was preparing front-line staff to handle conversations around power dynamics, colonial abuse, and sexual assault - particularly of minors.” The museum did not publicly respond to Montiel de Shuman's resignation, only releasing a general statement that they “ onot make media statements regarding individual employment matters.”

Marketing

Besides holding major art exhibitions inside the museum's 1,150-seat theatre and annual formal entertainment fundraising galas such as Les Carnavel des ArtStars in November, other Detroit Institute of Arts coordinated events include the annual "Fash Bash," a leading corporate sponsored fashion event, featuring celebrities and models that showcase the latest fashion trends, typically held in the

Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen) is a group of seven connected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riv ...

's Winter Garden, the Fox Theatre, or at the Detroit Institute of Arts theatre in August to celebrate Detroit Fashion Week. A 2012 survey showed 79 percent of the institute's annual visitors lived in one of the three surrounding counties Wayne (which includes Detroit), Macomb, and Oakland. The museum's annual attendance was 429,000 in 2011 and rose to 594,000 in 2013. In 2014, the museum's annual attendance was about 630,000.

Finance

One of the largest, most significant art museums in the United States, the Detroit Institute of Arts relies on private donations for much of its financial support. The museum has sought to increase its endowment balance to provide it financial independence. The City of Detroit owns the museum building and collection, but withdrew the city's financial support. The museum's endowment totaled $200 million in 1999 and $230 million in 2001. The museum completed a major renovation and expansion in 2007. By 2008, the museum's endowment reached $350 million; however, a recession, reduced contributions, and unforeseen costs reduced the endowment balance to critical levels. In 2012, the endowment totaled $89.3 million and provided an annual return of about $3.4 million in investment income; while admissions, the museums cafe restaurant, and merchandise and book sales from the museum's gift shop generated about $3.5 million a year, or just 15 percent of the annual budget. The museum raised $60 million from 2008 to 2012, reduced staffing, and reduced its annual operating budget from $34 million in 2008 to 25.4 million in 2012. In 2012, voters in three of the major metropolitan counties approved a property tax levy or millage for a duration of 10 years, expected to raise $23 million per year, saving the museum from cuts. In August 2012, the museum website expressed appreciation to the voters for their support. The Museum offers Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb County residents free general admission for the 10-year duration of the millage approved in 2012. In 2012, the museum established an updated fund raising goal for its endowment balance to reach $400 million by 2022 in order to be self-sustaining, while the millage is in effect. The DIA art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.5 billion according to a 2014 estimate. After city's bankruptcy filing July 18, 2013, creditors targeted a part of the museum's collection that had been paid for with city funds as a potential source of revenue. Kevyn Orr, the city's state-appointed emergency manager, hired Christie's Auction House to appraise the collection. After months of determining the fair market value of the portion of the art that was purchased with city funds, Christie's released a report December 19, 2013, saying that the collection of nearly 2,800 pieces of the then city-owned artwork, was worth $454 million to $867 million, with one masterpiece by Van Gogh worth up to $150 million. To prevent possible sale of the works, museum proponents developed what has been named the ''grand bargain''. Under the plan, which was eventually approved, the museum would raise $100 million for its portion, nine private foundations pledged $330 million, and the state of Michigan would contribute $350 million for a total of $820 million in order to guarantee municipal workers' pensions. In return, the city of Detroit would transfer its portion of the collection and the building to the non-profit entity that already operates the museum. This plan was challenged by other creditors, who claimed that it treated them unfairly and requested to conduct their own appraisal of the museum collection. Some creditors came forward with offers from other parties to buy the artworks for sums higher than Christie's appraisal. On May 13, 2014, Orr asked Detroit automakers to add $195 million to make the grand bargain stronger. The eventual settlement did not require the DIA to sell any art. The discovery in 2014 that DIA President

Graham W. J. Beal Graham W. J. Beal was the Director, President and CEO of the Detroit Institute of Arts, from 1999 to 2015. Background Beal was born in Stratford-on-Avon, England. He has degrees in English and Art History from the University of Manchester and t ...

and Executive Vice President Anne Erickson received significant raises in 2014 and $50,000 bonuses in 2013 raised concerns among Wayne, Macomb and Oakland County residents. The DIA board notified suburban authorities November 4, 2014, that it reimbursed the museum $90,000 for bonuses awarded to three top executives in 2013. On January 8, 2015, Beal announced he was stepping down on June 30. Months later, Beal's pay continued to generate negative headlines for the DIA. Oakland County officials were at the forefront of opposition to a retroactive raise for Beal, even though the money was raised from private donations. Some local lawmakers hoped to make the non-profit DIA subject to the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

Notable people

Directors

*John W. Dunsmore – First Director 1888-1891 *Armand H. Griffith – Second Director 1891-1913 * Clyde Huntley Burroughs – Acting, then Assistant Director 1913-1917 * Charles Moore – Third Director 1914-1917 * Clyde Huntley Burroughs – Fourth Director 1917-1924 *

– Fifth Director 1924-1945 *

Edgar Preston Richardson Edgar Preston Richardson (December 2, 1902 – March 27, 1985), also known as E. P. Richardson, was an American art historian, museum director, author, and curator. Richardson served as director of the Detroit Institute of Arts (1945–1962) and ...

– Sixth Director 1945-1962 *Paul L. Grigaut – Acting director 7 months * Willis F. Woods – Seventh Director 1962-1973 *Frederick J. Cummings – Eighth Director 1973-1984 *Michael Kan – Acting director 14 months *Samuel Sachs, II – Ninth Director 1985-1997 *Maurice Parrish – Interim Director 1997-1999 *

– Tenth Director 1999-2015 * Salvador Salort-Pons - Eleventh Director 2015-Present

Curators

* Mehmet Aga-Oglu – Curator of Near Eastern Art 1929-1933 *Francis Waring Robinson – Curator of European Art 1939-1947, Curator of Ancient and Medieval Art 1947-1968, Curator of Medieval Art 1968-1972 *William H. Peck – Curator of Ancient Art 1968-2004 *

Sam Wagstaff Samuel Jones Wagstaff Jr. (November 4, 1921 – January 14, 1987) was an American art curator and collector as well as the artistic mentor and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who was also his lifetime companion) and poet- punk ro ...

– Curator of Contemporary Art 1968-1971

Bulletin

A museum bulletin has been published under three different titles since 1904: * 1948–present: ''Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts'' * 1919–1948: ''Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit'' * 1904–1919: ''Bulletin of the Detroit Museum of Arts''

References

External links

Official Detroit Institute of Arts−DIA websiteDetroit Institute of Arts at ARTSTORDetroit Institute of Arts
within Google Arts & Culture * {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Detroit

Art museums and galleries in Michigan Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by ar ...

Museums in Detroit Midtown Detroit Woodward Avenue Museums of American art Asian art museums in the United States Museums of ancient Greece in the United States African art museums in the United States Museums of ancient Rome in the United States Museums of Ancient Near East in the United States Museums of Dacia Historic district contributing properties in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Art museums established in 1883 1883 establishments in Michigan Paul Philippe Cret buildings Michael Graves buildings Beaux-Arts architecture in Michigan Modernist architecture in Michigan Neoclassical architecture in Michigan Renaissance Revival architecture in Michigan Tourist attractions in Detroit FRAME Museums