Cleveland Museum of Art: An artful work in progress

We made our first trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) nearly seven years ago to see a show spotlighting the art, culture, politics and history of Barcelona across multiple media. I have fond memories of this particular show, but few memories of the museum itself as the Barcelona exhibition halls were the only part of the museum open at that time.

We attended another show at the CMA focused on modern art masters like Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Matisse, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Seurat and Van Gogh a year later, but, again, had few memories of the museum itself as it was still mostly closed for renovation at the time.

We recently visited the CMA for a third time when we could finally see the entire museum and appreciate its original Beaux Arts-style building even as its multi-year expansion and renovation remains a work in progress.

Founders of the museum in 1913 envisioned it as a place "for the benefit of all the people forever". They commissioned architects Hubbell & Benes, responsible for Cleveland landmarks like the West Side Market and Wade Chapel at Lake View Cemetery, with creating the neo-classic building of white Georgian marble on a plot of land donated by Jeptha H. Wade II in Cleveland's University Circle arts, cultural, education and medical district.

The original building, opened in 1916, cost $1.25 million.

Nearly a century later, the museum launched a $350 million capital campaign for a dramatic renovation and expansion to transform outdated spaces and continue to serve the public for the next century or so.

The museum renovation and expansion proceeded in stages, even in the face of the recent economic downturn, due at least in part to the foresight of the museum's founders who established a healthy endowment for the museum's operation. The endowment fund stands at $600 million today, which provides two-thirds of the museum's $36 million budget.

The renovation and expansion project increases the museum's floor space by about 65 percent, bringing its total size to 592,000 square feet.

I think one of the most striking features of architect Rafael Viñoly's design is the 39,000-square-foot atrium that showcases the original building's facade in a sun-filled indoor area that is now one of Cleveland's largest public spaces.

A 76-seat fine dining restaurant, cafe and gift store anchor one end of the enclosed atrium, making a pleasant place to linger with a book and a cup of tea.

The museum's embrace of popular computer technology to engage and guide visitors through the collection is also particularly notable.

Our latest visit to the museum coincided with the debut of some of the programs in Gallery One, a 12,000-square-foot interactive learning space near the museum's entrance.

Gallery One represents one of the most comprehensive use of popular computer technology in use at any art museum in the United States. Features like a 40-foot-long interactive display wall and a free mobile app for iPads called ArtLens provide guidance through the museum and interpretation without overshadowing the art itself.

We learned a bit about the art objects in Gallery One via some of the new touch screens mounted near them.

We opted to skip the app this time and casually browse the museum to get an overall impression of the collection as we felt more like first-time visitors because of our limited exposure to the museum during previous visits and the fact that we didn't have our iPad with us.

We will make sure to load the app on our iPad and bring along for our next visit so we can experience the museum's collection in a more in-depth way. (Visitors can rent an iPad from the museum if they don't have their own, and there are plans to introduce iPhone and Android versions of the system in the future)

Planning a visit to the museum? Download the app, a visitor's guide or browse the museum's online galleries at the museum's web site.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. The museum closes on Mondays and for major holidays.

Admission is free to view the permanent collection. Some special exhibitions require a separate admission charge.

Want to learn more? Check out Treasures of the Cleveland Museum of Art by David Franklin and Griffith C. Mann or the books accompanying the special exhibits I enjoyed at the museum, Monet to Dali: Impressionist and Modern Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art by Laurence Channing, Barbara J. Bradley and William H. Robinson or Barcelona an Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali by William H. Robinson, Jordi Falgas and Carmen Belen Lord.

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Comments

[Alysia George]

I love free museums! I live a few hours from Cleveland, I really need to visit the city some time!

[Adam Sommer]

That indoor open air atrium looks incredible! When I make it to Cleveland this will definitely be on my list!

[Dominique King]

Adam-I took those photos almost a year ago at this point...on a dreary winter day with a bit of sun, and you see how spectacular the atrium looked that day...it was a very nice place to sit and soak up a bit of sun that day. I was thrilled that we finally had the chance to see most of the museum that last trip...and I can't wait to return there again. You definitely need to go :)