The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of North Michigan Road and West 38th Street, about three miles north of downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery. There are exhibitions, classes, tours, and events, many of which change seasonally. The entire campus and organization was previously referred to as the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In 2017 the campus and organization were renamed "Newfields" as part of a rebranding campaign while the "Indianapolis Museum of Art" now specifically refers to the main art museum building that acts as the cornerstone of the campus, as well as the legal name of the organization doing business as Newfields.
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is the ninth oldest and eighth largest encyclopedic art museum in the United States. The permanent collection comprises over 54,000 works, including African, American, Asian, and European pieces. Significant areas of the collection include: Neo-Impressionist paintings; Japanese paintings of the Edo period; Chinese ceramics and bronzes; paintings, sculptures, and prints by Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School; a large number of works by J. M. W. Turner; and a contemporary art and design collection. Other areas of emphasis include textiles and fashion arts as well as a focus on modern design.
Founded in 1883 as the Art Association of Indianapolis, the first permanent museum was opened in 1906 as part of the John Herron Art Institute. In 1969, the Art Association of Indianapolis changed its name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and in 1970 the museum moved to its current location. Among the Art Association's founders was May Wright Sewall (1844–1920), known for her work in the women's suffrage movement. Other supporters have included Booth Tarkington (1869–1946), Eli Lilly (1885–1977), Herman C. Krannert (1887–1972), and Caroline Marmon Fesler (1878–1960). The associated John Herron Art Institute was established with the help of notable Hoosier Group artists T. C. Steele and William Forsyth.
The museum is widely recognized as innovative in its development of open source technologies, institutional transparency, and collaboration between museums. In 2008, the IMA became the first fine art museum to be named an Energy Star partner due to its greening initiative and efforts to reduce energy consumption. In 2009, the IMA was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service for public service, specifically the museum's free admission policy and educational programming. The free admission policy began in 1941 and remained in place until 2007, when an admission fee for non-members was instated. Free admission returned a year later and remained until 2014, when a fee was reinstated for non-members.
History Early days (1883–1969)
The Indianapolis Museum of Art was founded as the Art Association of Indianapolis, an open-membership group led by suffragist May Wright Sewall. Formed in 1883, the organization aimed to inform the public about visual art and provide art education. The Art Association's first exhibition, which opened November 7, 1883, contained 453 artworks from 137 artists. The death of wealthy Indianapolis resident John Herron in 1895 left a substantial bequest with the stipulation that the money be used for a gallery and a school with his name. The John Herron Art Institute opened in 1902 at the corner of 16th and Pennsylvania street, with the Herron Art School and the Herron Museum of Art opening in 1906. Emphasis on the Arts and Crafts movement grew throughout the early years of the school, with a focus on applied art. William Henry Fox was hired in 1905 as the Herron Museum of Art's first director. From 1905 to 1910, Fox managed both the museum and the school while constructing two new buildings on the 16th Street site.
From the 1930s until the 1950s, the John Herron Art Institute placed an emphasis on professionalism and growth in collections. Wilbur Peat, director of the museum from 1929 until 1965, acquired significant portions of the collection. Peat also made connections with benefactors such as George H. A. Clowes, Booth Tarkington, and Eli Lilly. Caroline Marmon Fesler, president of the Art Association of Indianapolis, gave a number of artworks in the 1940s, including 20th-century modern artworks and Post-Impressionist works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Seurat. After years of debate surrounding expansion and relocation of the museum and school, the great-grandchildren of Eli Lilly, J.K. Lilly III and Ruth Lilly, donated the family estate, Oldfields, to the Art Association of Indianapolis in 1966. One year later the Art Association decided that the Herron Art School would be ceded to Indiana University's Indianapolis campus in an effort to assist with accreditation. That same year the Association confirmed that the museum would relocate to Oldfields, with the new Krannert Pavilion opening to the public in October 1970. In 1969, prior to moving to the new site, the Art Association of Indianapolis officially changed its name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Move to current location (1970–2011)
In 1960, Art Association of Indianapolis board members began discussing the idea of placing the museum at the center of a new cultural campus. Inspired by University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio, board chairman Herman Krannert proposed building an "Acropolitan Area" that would combine a number of cultural institutions in a natural setting. The museum's location on the grounds of Oldfields allowed architect Ambrose Madison Richardson to build on the idea of an acropolis while also utilizing the natural features of the site. Krannert Pavilion opened in 1970 as the first of four buildings located on the museum's grounds. Following the opening of Krannert, the expansion continued with the Clowes Pavilion in 1972, which housed the Clowes' collection of Old Masters. Construction on the Showalter Pavilion and Sutphin Fountain was completed in 1973. In 1986, the IMA's board members chose Edward Larrabee Barnes to design the Hulman Pavilion, a new wing of the museum which housed the Eiteljorg collection of African and South Pacific art. The pavilion opened in 1990 and increased the exhibition space to more than . The expansion aimed to provide clearer chronological continuity and a more coherent flow as visitors moved from one gallery to the next.
Bret Waller became the director of the IMA in 1990, and was succeeded by Anthony Hirschel in 2001. From the mid-1990s until 2005 the IMA focused on the next phase of development, the "New Vision", or what became known as the "New IMA". After four years of restoration, the Oldfields mansion reopened to the public in June 2002 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. and
Lawrence A. O'Connor Jr., a former CEO of Bank One Indiana, was named the interim director of the IMA in November 2004 when the previous director Hirschel unexpectedly resigned. In 2005 the museum completed a three-year, $74 million renovation and expansion project that added three new wings and 50 percent more gallery space to the building. In all, the construction added to the museum, in addition to the renovation of of existing space. Renovations included the Hulman and Clowes Pavilions, which house the museum's European collection, as well as the addition of the Allen Whitehill Clowes Gallery. The expansion aimed to unify the building and campus while creating a more welcoming atmosphere for visitors. As one of three new wings and as a new entry to the building, the Efroymson Pavilion helped to transition visitors between the museum and the surrounding grounds. The Wood Gallery Pavilion added three levels of gallery space as well as a dining area and education suite, while the Deer Special Events Pavilion added additional space for private and public events. The architectural focus on welcoming visitors coincided with a new advertising campaign that reached out to a broader, more diverse audience.
Maxwell L. Anderson was hired as the permanent director and CEO of the IMA in 2006. While director, Anderson oversaw the opening of the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres and a conservation science-focused laboratory, as well as the acquisition of the mid-century modern Miller House and Garden estate."Indianapolis Museum of Art strikes deal to acquire house by Eero Saarinen; a model for LACMA?". Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2008 In 2008, the museum changed its main entrance and address from 1200 West 38th Street to 4000 North Michigan Road. Anderson left the museum in 2011.
Time under Charles L. Venable (2012–2021) Charles L. Venable was hired as the director and CEO of the IMA in October 2012. The Indianapolis Star stated that while the previous six years under Anderson had seen impressive and well-received art world achievements, such as the acquisition of the Miller House and securing the bid for the Venice Biennale, liberal spending had led to a decrease in the endowment and the alienation of some big donors. The IMA was struggling with finances at the time, at least in part due to the Great Recession, as well as the departure of two fundraising chiefs from the museum and a top donor from the board of governors. A few months before Venable's arrival, the Moody's credit rating agency changed the IMA's rating from "stable" to "negative", due to the IMA's outstanding debt and reliance on investment income. From the beginning, Venable's financial conservatism and increase in paid events characterized as populist were a major part of his directorship, a direction that was alternately praised and lambasted by art critics, the local art community, and the media. In February 2013, art journalist Tyler Green criticized the approach, stating, "a mission-driven art museum is not a theme park [and] mere attendance is not a meaningful end." However, Venable defended the approach as pragmatic, stating, "Arts audiences over the last 50 years are getting smaller, so you've got to appeal to more people."
In March 2013, the IMA cut eleven percent of its staff in order to save $1.7 million annually. Following these layoffs, several high-profile staff members left, including curators of contemporary art Lisa Freiman and Sarah Urist Green. In April 2015, IMA leadership ended the organization's policy of free admission to all visitors, a move which was largely criticized by the media and patrons, but that the museum maintained was needed for financial stability. This change came with the addition of free parking. Subsequently, paid membership rose from about 5,000 when the museum was free, to more than 17,000 in October 2017.
In mid-2016 and 2017, the IMA offered outdoor minigolf. The program was created by Scott Stulen, the curator of audience experiences at the time. The holes were designed by a variety of artists to have a Hoosier theme. The intent of the project was to use the museum's outdoor space to display interactive art that might attract those who might not usually feel comfortable in an art museum.
In October 2017, the museum continued this movement towards appealing to a wider audience with the announcement of a new branding initiative in which both the campus and the organization itself was renamed "Newfields". The initiative formally changed the names of the IMA, The Gardens, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, and Lilly House to include the phrase "at Newfields" appended to the end of each. The rebranding was preceded by the exodus of several curators, including the curator of contemporary art Tricia Paik and Scott Stulen. The effort included a number of new outdoor events including Winterlights, starting in 2017, and Harvest, starting in 2019.