Three Wonderful Art Museums in Minneapolis
Filed Under Arts & Culture, Twin Cities
Different families are looking for different things when they go on vacation in Minnesota. Some want to simply sit comatose by a lake, stirring only to grab another drink form the cooler. The hearty outdoor types pack up a kayak and head into the wilds of the Boundary Waters. Others prefer a vacation packed with amusement parks, water slides and cotton candy.
And then there are those of us who want to take our vacations a little more slowly, but still not lose any brain cells over the couple of weeks of freedom. Our family definitely fits that category, and a vacation for us often includes a visit to an art museums. The Twin Cities is home to several world-renowned museums; here are our suggestions for three “don’t miss” art galleries in Minneapolis.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art
The grand-daddy of them all, the Minneapolis Institute of Art was founded in 1883, and has grown over the years into a regional powerhouse that houses over 100,000 objects. More than half-a-million pass through its doors each year to take advantage of its free general admission and its window on the world of artistic achievement.
With strong collections across a wide range of areas, it’s difficult to isolate the real standouts in the collection, but the Asian Art galleries are world class, while the ten Family Days the museum hosts each year include music and dance, artist demonstrations and a huge number of hands-on activities. You’ll want to arrive early for these events … the museum will be packed with families.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis
Closed Mondays
Walker Art Center, and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Originally established in the late 1870s, since the 1940s the Walker Art Center has focused on modern art. During the 1960s a period of expansion took the Walker into other areas of artistic development, and today its known as a model of interdisciplinary art including film, performing arts, and education.
Right across from the Walker is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, arguably the loveliest outdoor space in the Twin Cities. Filled with carefully selected public sculpture on a grand scale, the Sculpture Garden includes two sculptures that have taken on an iconic presence in the Twin Cities: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Spoonbridge and Cherry, and Frank Gehry’s 22-foot tall Standing Glass Fish.
In 2005 the Walker opened its expanded facility, doubling its size with a beautiful renovation. New galleries, a theatre, terraces and other public spaces have enabled the museum to show much more of its permanent collection, along with special exhibitions that have attracted worldwide attention.
Walker Art Center
Vineland Place & Lyndale Avenue South
Galleries closed Mondays
Sculpture Garden open daily, 6 am to Midnight
Weisman Art Museum
The new kid on the block in terms of its location, the Weisman has its origins as a teaching museum for the University of Minnesota. But in 1993, a combination of generous support from Frederick Weisman and a visionary design by Frank Gehry came together to enable a landmark museum on the banks of the Mississippi. Gehry’s design drew few neutral reactions; it was feted and reviled in equal measure; myself, I love it. Something of a sketch for his masterwork in Bilbao, Gehry’s wild and dynamic design is sheathed in stainless steel, which shines like a beacon and has become the Twin Cities most recognizable building.
The permanent collection at the Weisman is small, but important, with strong holdings in early 20th century painters including Georgia O’Keefe. The strength of the museum, however, is it changing schedule of special exhibitions which have brought some important work to an appreciative audience in the Twin Cities.
Weisman Art Museum
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
333 East River Road
Closed Mondays
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