Exploring the intersections of art, architecture, and design, at both renowned institutions and cutting-edge contemporary collections. Museum interior spaces must be as carefully designed as their façades—if not more so—to meet the needs of both the art on display and the viewers. The design and construction of art museums in America thus is a complex process, and one rarely undertaken lightly. The architect must design a building that effectively supports the art exhibited. The museumgoers’ interaction with the art must be enhanced by the architecture, while amenities such as restaurants, cafes, gift shops, and accessible and convenient restrooms ensure their comfort. Finally, the storage of works of art not on display must be accounted for in the building design. American Art Museum Architecture: Documents and Design explores all aspects of, and approaches to, museum architecture—the aesthetic, the practical, the innovative, and the functional. Architectural historian Eric M. Wolf delves into the archives of some of the country’s premier institutions not only to explore the design decisions made at their founding, but also to understand how those institutions have continued to evolve along with their collections, up to the present day. Wolf examines the gradual development of six major museums: the Frick Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Menil Collection in Houston, the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He explains how each museum was originally conceived, how the architecture reflected or modified that original conception, and how the buildings have been reconsidered or revised in later years, as the nature of art, art display, and museum-going has evolved. Extensive archival plans, documents, and photographs enhance the narrative. American Art Museum Architecture also considers the unique architectural challenges often posed by contemporary art. Conceptual art, video installations, and large-scale pieces are increasingly found in permanent collections, at small galleries and encyclopedic institutions alike. Museums built decades ago may have to renovate in order to accommodate such pieces, while newer museums devoted to contemporary work must tackle new architectural challenges when considering how best to house this work. Encompassing both grand nineteenth-century institutions and avant-garde contemporary art collections, American Art Museum Architecture is a timely and fascinating exploration of the ever-changing relationship between architecture and art.

Nestled in a natural ravine in the Ozark hills, and designed by internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas is an architectural masterpiece. Featuring arched copper roofs and glass-walled bridges over ponds created from the inflow of a natural stream, the museum complements the distinctive landscape of northwest Arkansas. With the addition of a stunning collection of American art masterworks, and extensive grounds comprising 120 acres of native hardwood forest, Crystal Bridges seamlessly blends art, architecture, and nature to create a visitor experience unlike any other. This book tells the story of the creation of Crystal Bridges: from concept and an early napkin sketch to the engineering feats required to construct an art museum of international stature in the path of a natural waterway. Featuring new color photography of the museum's striking architecture paired with quotes from Moshe Safdie, Art in Architecture showcases a fabulous new museum.

American art museums share a mission and format that differ from those of their European counterparts, which often have origins in aristocratic collections. This groundbreaking work recounts the fascinating story of the invention of the modern American art museum, starting with its roots in the 1870s in the craft museum type, which was based on London’s South Kensington (now the Victoria and Albert) Museum. At the turn of the twentieth century, American planners grew enthusiastic about a new type of museum and presentation that was developed in Northern Europe, particularly in Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. Called Kulturgeschichte (cultural history) museums, they were evocative displays of regional history. American trustees, museum directors, and curators found that the Kulturgeschichte approach offered a variety of transformational options in planning museums, classifying and displaying objects, and broadening collecting categories, including American art and the decorative arts. Leading institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, adopted and developed crucial aspects of the Kulturgeschichte model. By the 1930s, such museum plans and exhibition techniques had become standard practice at museums across the country.

This landmark publication looks at American art museums designed since the Museum of Modern Art was completed in New York in 1938. Each building is described in short texts by the architect and museum director and documented in beautiful photographs by renowned photographer Paul Rocheleau.

Examines the development of the architecture of American art museums, analyzing seven recent buildings

This richly illustrated volume traces the history of this landmark building, documenting its varied functions and evolving architecture with rarely seen photographs and architectural plans.

The buildings of the Smithsonian Institution not only contain impressive collections; they are themselves icons of great cultural significance, many of them part of the historic National Mall. The Smithsonian's unique buildings illustrate the changing styles and sensibilities of America as an evolving nation. Representing the work of major architects, each building evokes a specific time in history: the mid-19th-century turreted Castle, the sky-reflecting mid-century modern Air and Space Museum, and the golden, undulating, 21st-century American Indian Museum.