University of Michigan Museum of Art

Construction

Alumni Memorial Hall was originally conceived in 1864 as a way to honor the University of Michigan students, faculty, and alumni who had died fighting in the Civil War. However, the project was put on hold until 1904, when a committee of Michigan alumni and professors, led by Professor Martin Luther D'Ooge and Judge Claudius B. Grant, secured a promissory note from the Board of Regents for the land the hall would eventually be built on.

With the land set aside, the Board of Regents created a committee to work in parallel with the Alumni Memorial Committee in 1905, and by the end of the year had awarded the project to the Detroit architecture firm Donaldson and Meier at the cost of $175,000. The hall's cornerstone was laid by Judge Grant and construction began in June 1908. Alumni Memorial Hall was dedicated on May 11, 1910, with a final building cost of $190,000.

The hall itself was built in the neoclassical tradition with a pair of two stone columns flanking the hall's main bronze doors with two smaller side doors. The inside continues to house the Alumni Association's headquarters and the university's vast art collection alongside pieces donated by alumni, including a bust of the university's first president Henry Philip Tappan. It also housed the University Club, before the club moved across the street to the Union.

Artwork

Permanent collection

The museum's permanent collection includes work by James McNeill Whistler, Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthaler, Pablo Picasso, Joshua Reynolds, Claude Monet, Max Beckmann, Walker Evans, Randolph Rogers, Kara Walker, Alvin D. Loving, Christian Boltanski, Donald Sultan, Jenny Holzer, Tracey Emin, Louise Nevelson, Yinka Shonibare, Romare Bearden, Michele Oka Doner, Hiram Powers, Mark di Suvero, Tiffany & Co., Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Toyokuni I, Shigeo Fukuda, Alexander Calder, Marian Spore Bush, and Grace Hartigan, among many others.

Outdoor artwork

The Mark di Suvero sculpture Orion was installed in front of the building from 2008 to 2018, then removed briefly for conservation, and reinstalled permanently in 2019.

The kinetic sculpture Shang was a long-term loan to the university that stood outside the building from 2008 to 2020, when it was bought by a private collector. In November 2020, the Jaume Plensa piece Behind the Walls was installed in its place.

Other sculptures outside of the museum include Daedalus by Charles Ginnever, Ternary Marker by Beverly Pepper, Stiff Box No. 12 by Lucas Samaras, Requiem by Erwin Binder, and a trio of pieces by Michele Oka Doner.

Temporary exhibitions

Temporary exhibitions at the museum have included work by Meleko Mokgosi, Mari Katayama, Ceal Floyer, Paul Rand, and others.

Gallery

|File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 08 (European & American Art Gallery).jpg|European & American Art Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 12.jpg|Interior, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 21 (Chinese Art Gallery).jpg|Chinese Art Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 33 (Modern & Contemporary Gallery).jpg|Modern & Contemporary Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 07 (Open Storage).jpg|Open Storage, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 10 (African Art Gallery).jpg|African Art Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 35 (European Art (1100-1650) Gallery).jpg|European Art (1100–1650) Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 28 (Modern & Contemporary Gallery).jpg|Modern & Contemporary Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art |File:University of Michigan Museum of Art June 2015 15 (South, Southeast, and Central Asian Art Gallery).jpg|South, Southeast, and Central Asian Art Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art

Provenance research

In 2007, the museum concluded a three-year investigation that found no evidence any of its artwork had been looted by Nazis during World War II.

References

References

1. Slusser, Jean Paul. "Jean Paul Slusser papers".
2. "Mission and History {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
3. "Plan Your Visit {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
4. (2017-11-19). "New University of Michigan museum leader wants 'dynamic and exciting place'".
5. Buildings and Grounds Department. (1923). "University of Michigan Buildings". University of Michigan.
6. Donnelly, Walter A.. (1958). "The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey". University of Michigan.
7. "University of Michigan | Museum of Art (UMMA)". Umma.umich.edu.
8. "Orion Comes Home {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
9. "Can You Swing On Shang? An Elegy to an UMMA Icon That Will Be Forever Missed".
10. "Monumental Outdoor Sculpture by Jaume Plensa to Change the Face of U-M Museum of Art".
11. "Outdoor Sculpture {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
12. "Mari Katayama {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
13. "Ceal Floyer: Things{{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
14. "Paul Rand: The Designer's Task {{!}} University of Michigan Museum of Art".
15. "Research from the University of Michigan Museum of Art: Report 26 October 2007".