History of the Cincinnati Art Museum . (CAM/3)

Biographical/Historical Information

Although Cincinnati had long boasted a series of art galleries and academies, the excitement of the 1876 Centennial created the impetus for the construction of a true art museum. The Women's Centennial Committee organized a successful exhibition of Cincinnati women's art at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876.

This committee was succeeded in 1877 by the Women’s Art Museum Association (WAMA), who advocated tirelessly for the construction of an art musuem in Cincinnati. The loan exhibitions they organized, independently in 1878 and at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition in 1879 and 1880, were of particular importance in drawing attention to the need for an art museum.

Inspired by these efforts, wealthy mill-owner Charles West offered on September 8, 1880, to provide $150,000 towards the construction of an art museum, if that sum was matched by the community within one year. In fact, the sum was exceeded within one month by subscriptions. As a result of this agreement, the Cincinnati Museum Association was formed on February 15, 1881.

The Association found a temporary site for its galleries in the Cincinnati Music Hall building, and at the opening of these rooms on February 10, 1882, Charles West gave an additional $150,000 to begin an endowment fund. A week later, the City of Cincinnati gave approximately 20 acres of land on a hilltop in Eden Park as a site for the new museum. Construction began on September 25, 1882.

While the construction of the museum building proceeded, the Museum Association began to assemble a collection worthy of the new museum. Early purchases included needlework, lace, arms and armor, and reproductions of famous metalwork by the Elkington Company of London. The Women's Art Museum Association also acquired many pieces for the new musuem, focussing on American art pottery.

Designed by James W. McLaughlin in the Romanesque style, the Cincinnati Art Museum was dedicated on May 17, 1886.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of miscellaneous materials which provide information on the founding and early history of the Cincinnati Musuem Association and Cincinnati Art Museum. As well as a number of general histories of the musuem and miscellaneous early records, there are specific materials relating to the Women's Art Musuem Association, the short-lived Cincinnati Academy of Fine Arts, Frank Duveneck's art classes at CAM, archaeological excavations undertaken by the museum, early collections of art, and significant anniversaries. The collection also includes the contents of a time capule from the museum's construction in 1886, and a series of volumes containing invitations received and sent by Alfred Traber Goshorn, CAM's first director, when he headed the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.

Arrangement

Conditions Governing Access

Whilst the archives aims to provide access to the records in its care to the fullest extent possible, it reserves the right to restrict access for any reason. Please see the archives’ Access Policy for further information: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/visit/library-archives/the-archives/

For early correspondence exchanged by the founders of the Museum, see CAM/1/1 Box 1A, Board of Trustees & Museum Association correspondence & papers (miscellaneous), 1858-1926.

Further early correspondence can be found in CAM/2/1 and CAM/2/2, Director's Incoming and Outgoing Correspondence.

Preferred Citation note

Mary R. Schiff Library & Archives, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH.

Detailed List of Collection

Custodial History note

Uncovered during renovations.

Custodial History note

Gift of Charles J. Livingood and Chalmers D. Clifton, from the estate of Mary M. Emery, 1935.

Custodial History note

Gift of Charles J. Livingood and Chalmers D. Clifton, from the estate of Mary M. Emery, 1935.