Originally from Vermont, George and Sarah Joslyn made their move to Des Moines, IA in 1879 for George's new printing job at the Iowa Printing Company which involved manual labor.<ref name=":182">{{Cite book |last=Beal |first=Graham W. J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31011665 |title=Joslyn Art Museum : a building history |date=1997 |publisher=The Museum |others=Joslyn Art Museum |isbn=0-936364-25-4 |location=Omaha, Neb. |oclc=31011665}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite web |title=Joslyn Memorial Museum {{!}} Nebraska Architecture |url=https://nebraskaarchitecture.org/building/81/joslyn-memorial-museum |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=nebraskaarchitecture.org}}</ref><ref name=":0" />Shortly after in 1880 George was to move to Omaha to manage his own printing branch of the company.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Gaster |first=Patricia C. |date=2022-10-29 |title=George A. Joslyn of Omaha |url=https://history.nebraska.gov/george-a-joslyn-of-omaha/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=History Nebraska |language=en-US}}</ref>George then founded his own company called the Western Newspaper Union, which soon became the largest supplier of "ready print" newspapers and provided news for 12,000 people within the United States, this is when he would gain most of his wealth.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> George was considered to be philanthropic with his wealth, but he was also considered a hard man of business in the Omaha community.<ref name=":5" />
Originally from Vermont, George and Sarah Joslyn made their move to [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], IA in 1879 for George's new printing job at the Iowa Printing Company, which involved manual labor.<ref name=":182">{{Cite book |last=Beal |first=Graham W. J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31011665 |title=Joslyn Art Museum : a building history |date=1997 |publisher=The Museum |others=Joslyn Art Museum |isbn=0-936364-25-4 |location=Omaha, Neb. |oclc=31011665}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite web |title=Joslyn Memorial Museum {{!}} Nebraska Architecture |url=https://nebraskaarchitecture.org/building/81/joslyn-memorial-museum |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=nebraskaarchitecture.org}}</ref><ref name=":0" />Shortly after in 1880 George was to move to Omaha to manage his own printing branch of the company.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Gaster |first=Patricia C. |date=2022-10-29 |title=George A. Joslyn of Omaha |url=https://history.nebraska.gov/george-a-joslyn-of-omaha/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=History Nebraska |language=en-US}}</ref>George then founded his own company called the Western Newspaper Union, which soon became the largest supplier of "ready print" newspapers and provided news for 12,000 people within the United States, this is when he would gain most of his wealth.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> George was considered to be philanthropic with his wealth, but he was also considered a hard man of business in the Omaha community.<ref name=":5" />
As a couple, George and Sarah Joslyn were known to be great lovers of the arts, especially music.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":2" />So, when George past in 1916 (now the richest man in Nebraska)<ref name=":5" />, Sarah decided she wanted a memorial building dedicated to his life and accomplishments, and to be a reflection of their love for the arts.<ref name=":2" /> The Memorial was also a gift to the people of Omaha and a way for the Joslyn's to give back to the city that had given them so much.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":1" /> Sarah Joslyn founded and funded the nonprofit Society of Liberal Arts to find a permanent home for art collections in Omaha.<ref name=":2" /> When the Society of Liberal Arts was created her intended purpose for it was to create and operate the Joslyn Memorial building that would later become the Joslyn Art Museum.<ref name=":2" />
As a couple, George and Sarah Joslyn were known to be great lovers of the arts, especially music.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":2" />So, when George past in 1916 (now the richest man in Nebraska)<ref name=":5" />, Sarah decided she wanted a memorial building dedicated to his life and accomplishments, and to be a reflection of their love for the arts.<ref name=":2" /> The Memorial was also a gift to the people of Omaha and a way for the Joslyn's to give back to the city that had given them so much.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":1" /> Sarah Joslyn founded and funded the nonprofit Society of Liberal Arts to find a permanent home for art collections in Omaha.<ref name=":2" /> When the Society of Liberal Arts was created her intended purpose for it was to create and operate the Joslyn Memorial building that would later become the Joslyn Art Museum.<ref name=":2" />
The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn.[1][2][3] Since its opening there have been multiple building expansions to house the museum's growing collection.[4][5][2] It is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection.[2] Some of the prominent works in the museum are part are of the nineteenth and twentieth century collections of American and European artists.[3][6] Key topics that are relevant to the Joslyn Art Musuem are, the history of George and Sarah Joslyn, the building history, museum admissions, and the collections of the museum.
Mission Statement: "Joslyn Art Musuem collects, preserves, and interprets the visual arts of the highest quality, fostering appreciation and enjoyment of art for the benefit of a diverse audience."[2][7]
George and Sarah Joslyn
Originally from Vermont, George and Sarah Joslyn made their move to Des Moines, IA in 1879 for George's new printing job at the Iowa Printing Company, which involved manual labor.[5][8][1]Shortly after in 1880 George was to move to Omaha to manage his own printing branch of the company.[1][9]George then founded his own company called the Western Newspaper Union, which soon became the largest supplier of "ready print" newspapers and provided news for 12,000 people within the United States, this is when he would gain most of his wealth.[9][3][1] George was considered to be philanthropic with his wealth, but he was also considered a hard man of business in the Omaha community.[9]
As a couple, George and Sarah Joslyn were known to be great lovers of the arts, especially music.[8][3]So, when George past in 1916 (now the richest man in Nebraska)[9], Sarah decided she wanted a memorial building dedicated to his life and accomplishments, and to be a reflection of their love for the arts.[3] The Memorial was also a gift to the people of Omaha and a way for the Joslyn's to give back to the city that had given them so much.[6][2] Sarah Joslyn founded and funded the nonprofit Society of Liberal Arts to find a permanent home for art collections in Omaha.[3] When the Society of Liberal Arts was created her intended purpose for it was to create and operate the Joslyn Memorial building that would later become the Joslyn Art Museum.[3]
In 1940 Sarah Joslyn passed away and gave control of the Society of Liberal Arts to the trustees.[1][3] The endowment she left to help maintain the museum was then also used to purchase new art acquisitions to expand the museum's collection.[2][6] The Memorial was later officially renamed as the Joslyn Art Musuem in 1987.[2][5]
Building History
In 1928, Kiewit started construction on the Joslyn Memorial building,[10] but plans for the building started to come together much earlier in 1920.[8] Since the Joslyn's were particularly fond of music the building was initially designed as a concert hall, but due to the persuasion of various art groups throughout Omaha art galleries were added.[5][6] The Memorial occupies a large and impressive art deco building designed by John and Alan McDonald.[8][5][2][3] John McDonald was a close friend to the Joslyn's, and before designing the memorial he designed their Scottish castle-like home, commonly known as the Joslyn Castle, along with several other public and residential buildings throughout Omaha.[5][1][11][8] Not only did the exterior of the building give an impressive art deco feel it also drew inspiration from Egyptian temples, art moderne motifs, and the Nebraska capitol building in Lincoln.[8][11] The Memorial building is constructed of Georgia pink marble, with 38 different marbles from all over the world and stone from across Europe and Africa in the interior.[2][3]
The decorative panels on the exterior were designed by sculptor John David Brcin, they refer to the peoples of the plains - the original Native American inhabitants and the later European explorers and settlers.[5][2] There are eight decorative panels in total around the outside of the building: Dissemination of Intelligence (front right), The Pioneer Press (front left), The Homesteaders (north), Civic Builders (south), Indian Signal Fire (north), Indian Prayer for Life (south), Indian Picture Writing (back north), and Indian Sign Language (back south).[5] Inscriptions carved on the building were written by Hartley Burr Alexander.[2] In order for the Memorial building to be built Sarah gave $2.6 million for construction and an endowment for the continued maintenance of the building.[11] The Joslyn Memorial building opened in 1931 and consisted of various art galleries, a concert hall, lecture hall, art library, classrooms, and a beautiful atrium with a fountain.[2][3] In 1938 the Memorial was listed in the top one hundred finest buildings in the United States.[2] With the building provided by Sarah, all the people of Omaha had to do now was fill it with art.[3]
Several decades after the Memorial building had opened to the public it was running out of space for staff and the growing collection.[5] Euguene Kingman the director of the Joslyn during the 1960s wanted the Joslyn to be the "Smithsonian of Omaha", a place where science and the arts could come together.[5] With this idea he wanted to expand the Memorial and construct additional buildings, which would include a science museum and a planetarium.[5] This idea was abandoned due to lack of funds for the project and Kingman's departure in 1969.[5] However, due to Kingman's vision for the Memorial he saved quite a bit of historical material which was later donated to historical museums around Omaha.[5] Also, after his departure the Joslyn Memorial moved back to a strong focus on the arts.[5]
Even though there was still no expansion of the memorial building, in 1987 the Joslyn Memorial participated in a land exchange with Omaha Central High School.[5] Through this exchange the Joslyn acquired land to the east of the memorial building to add a sculpture garden and expand parking, the high school gained land to the northeast where a new football stadium was constructed.[5]
The museum's glass atrium (the west view) contains a café and gift shop. Dale Chihuly's Chihuly: Inside and Out is seen at the far end.
In 1994 the first addition was finally added to the Joslyn Art Musuem, it was designed by Lord Norman Foster and would include the Scott Pavillion.[4] HDR Inc. and the Kiewit construction company would work together to build this addition.[5] The exterior of the 1994 addition used pink Georgian marble from the same quarry as the original Memorial building, so that the addition looked to be a part of the original.[11][8][5] This addition had been long awaited and due to a development campaign for the Joslyn Museum and the Western Heritage Museum (Durham Museum), there was plenty of money to construct a new space.[5] $15.95 million was used to construct the 1994 addition, it includes modern art, visiting show galleries, cafe, kitchen, offices, storage space, security control center, classroom space, and a beautiful glass atrium that connects the new addition to the Memorial building.[2][5] Aside from the 1994 addition, sections of the memorial building were updated, such as the restrooms, concert hall, and lecture hall.[5]
In 2008, construction began on the Joslyn Museum Sculpture Gardens, that would better utilize the space received in the 1987 land exchange.[2][5][12] The gardens opened in the summer of 2009 featuring work from local and national artists as well as a reflecting pool and waterfall.[13][2] Shortly after its opening, the garden hosted the 24th annual Jazz on the Green festival which it hosted until 2010 when Omaha Performing Arts began producing the event and moved it to the Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, which could better accommodate the growing event.[14]
Announced in 2018, the newest addition to the Joslyn Art Musuem will be the Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavillion, named after the Hawks Foundation philanthropists.[4] The museum closed for construction of the new addition in spring of 2022 and plans to reopen in 2024.[12][4] This new space will create an extra forty-two thousand square feet for the museum, which will include gallery spaces, classrooms, a new gift shop, and multi-purpose community spaces.[4][12] The architecture firm Snohetta, and local architecture company Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, worked together to design the new addition.[15][4] As with the original Memorial building and 1994 addition, Kiewit Building Group will serve as the contractor for the project.[4] Along with the new building space, the gardens and outdoor spaces surrounding the museum will be revamped, and old offices in the original building will be restored.[15] The exterior of the Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavillion resembles that of a cloud, which sticks to the theme of the great plains.[15] To tie the addition in with the rest of the museum exterior there will be small flecks of pink, noticeable from the outside of the pavilion.[15][2] The addition will also create a new entrance to the museum, and visitors can access the rest of the museum through the pavilion.[4]
Admissions
At its opening in 1931 the Memorial was to be an admission free facility.[16][7] Free admission continued until 1965, when admission started to be charged starting at twenty-five cents per person.[16][7] As time went on the price of admission continued to rise, in 1987 it was two dollars for adults, children and seniors were one dollar. [7] Then in 2010 admission was up to eight dollars per adult, thankfully in 2013 this changed, the museum moved back to their original vision of free admission for visitors.[7][2] This was made possible for the museum through a three-year grant from the Sherwood Foundation Grant.[7][17] After the grant was concluded the Sherwood Foundation believed that the Joslyn would be able to make up the funds from admissions in other ways.[17] Before declaring free admission, the fees that came from admission only ended up being 2-4% of the museum's overall revenue.[17] As of today the museum is still making sure admission is free for all to increase the accessibility of art to the public.[2][17]
Collections
When the Joslyn Memorial first opened, there was a need for art to fill the galleries.[3] The Art Institute of Omaha and the Friends of Art donated various paintings, Charles Nelson Dietz donated a personal collection in 1934, and The Jessie Barton Christianity Bequest donated works from the collection of Guy Barton.[3][2] These were some of the first groups and people to donate collections to the Joslyn, later after Sarah's death, Paul Grummann, the director from 1931-1947, and Harold Parsons purchased European art for the Memorial.[3] When Eugene Kingman took over as director in 1947, he expanded the Greek vase collection as well as art and artifacts from indigenous cultures.[3] In 1986 the Karl Bodmer collection, initially on loan to the museum, was donated and became part of the permanent collection of the Joslyn.[3] Over the more recent years the Joslyn continues to expand their collections, particularly the contemporary and modern, with the acquisition of Phillip G. Schrager collection, which will be housed in the new Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavillion.[4][2]
Permanent collections at the Joslyn Art Museum:[2]
From the balcony at the east end of the atrium, one can see another Chihuly work, Glowing Gemstone Polyvitro Chandelier, hanging above the café.Ancient: A collection of Greekpottery and various statues, that have Greek, Roman and Egyptian origins.[2]
Native American: Both traditional works and art done under the influence of, or in reaction against, European conventions and training.[18][2]
Art of the American West: Collections of work by the Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, based on his 1832-34 journey to the Missouri River frontier, and by Alfred Jacob Miller, illustrating the West in the 1830s.[3][2]
Latin American: Prominent works in the collection include paintings of saint figures and pottery from Felix Ortiz.[2]
Revisiting America: The Prints of Currier & Ives 11/21/2020-04/11/2021
Tuan Andrew Nguyen 09/19/2020-01/03/2021
These are just a few of the most recent temporary exhibitions that were displayed at the Josyln Art Museum after it was safe to reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic and before construction started on the Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavillion.[2]
Gallery
The Walter & Suzanne Scott Pavilion
During construction of the sculpture garden; summer 2008.
Media related to Joslyn Art Museum at Wikimedia Commons
