Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

Munson (formally Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute) is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions: museum of art, performing arts and school of art.

Museum of art

The museum of art has a substantial permanent collection of internationally recognized works. They are exhibited in the Munson Museum of Art Building. It is an International-style building designed by architect Philip Johnson and completed in 1960. A model of the building was exhibited in the United States Pavilion at the Brussels' World's Fair of 1958. It is a 60,000 sqft square and supported by eight external ferro-concrete piers, or two on each side. The exterior structural members are clad in bronze and "black" Canadian granite. The windowless cube is set above windowed office areas recessed in a dry moat, giving a "floating" effect. The interior features a two-story central courtyard, illuminated by a skylight, known as the Edward Wales Root Sculpture Court. It also holds an auditorium seating 271. In 2023, as part of a rebranding effort facilitated by a Brooklyn-based design agency, the museum rebranded itself simply "Munson". The museum president stated that despite its familiarity, few people knew the entire 10-syllable name of the museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. It houses the Munson decorative arts collection. It is connected to the Museum of Art building by an education wing built in 1995.

thumb | right | Fountain Elms

The museum has an extensive collection of European and American art, with a permanent collection of over 25,000 works. A highlight of the permanent collection is the first of the two original sets of Thomas Cole's famous series of paintings titled The Voyage of Life: The second set is at the National Gallery Washington, DC.

School of art

The art school was begun 1936, when The Arts Guild of New York City moved its school to a remodeled garage on the ground of the Institute and, under the name of the School of Related Arts and Sciences, began to offer courses in visual arts, the history and philosophy of art, and comparative symbolism.

In 1999, Munson became a satellite campus of the Pratt Institute. A program called Pratt at Munson-Williams-Proctor or PrattMWP allows students to study for two years in Utica, New York, called a "Foundations Program", before completing their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Pratt Institute's main campus in Brooklyn, New York. PrattMWP is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Middle States Association, and New York State Education Department.

Selection of notable artists featured in the museum collection

thumb|Pablo Picasso

thumb|Salvador Dalí

thumb|Andy Warhol

thumb|Rembrandt

Emma Amos
Jean Arp
Ernst Barlach
Romare Bearden
George Bellows
Louise Bourgeois
Fidelia Bridges
Charles E. Burchfield
William Merritt Chase
Frederic Edwin Church
Thomas Cole
Salvador Dalí
Stuart Davis
Charles Demuth
Albrecht Dürer
Raymond Duchamp-Villon
Asher Brown Durand
Francisco Goya
Juan Gris
William Harnett
Martin Johnson Heade
Robert Henri
Winslow Homer
Edward Hopper
Jasper Johns
Eastman Johnson
Wassily Kandinsky
Paul Klee
Willem de Kooning
Norman Lewis
Fernand Léger
George Luks
Frederick William MacMonnies
John Marin
Piet Mondrian
Georgia O'Keeffe
Stephen Parrish
Raphaelle Peale
John F. Peto
Pablo Picasso
Jackson Pollock
Liliana Porter
Hiram Powers
Maurice Prendergast
Rembrandt
Mark Rothko
Alison Saar
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Gino Severini
Charles Sheeler
Lorna Simpson
Gilbert Stuart
Bill Viola
Andy Warhol
James McNeill Whistler

Selected works in the museum collection by chronological order

File:Albrecht Dürer, Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, probably c. 1496-1498, NGA 58148.jpg | Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon (1498) by Albrecht Dürer

File:Rembrandt van Rijn, The Goldsmith, 1655, NGA 10003.jpg | The Goldsmith (1655) by Rembrandt Van Rijn

File:Bethia Tyler Watson.jpg | Portrait of Bethia Tyler Watson (1791) by Ralph Earl

File:PeterGansevoortByStuart.jpeg | Portrait of General Peter Gansevoort (1794) by Gilbert Stuart

File:Museo del Prado - Goya - Caprichos - No. 36 - Mala noche.jpg | Mama Noche (The Caprices, 1803) - Mala Noche

File:Still Life with Steak Raphaelle Peale, 1816-1817.JPG | Still Life with Steak (1816-17) by Raphaelle Peale

File:Alvan Fisher Eclipse with Race Track-1823.jpg | Eclipse, with Owner (1823) by Alvan Fisher

File:Antony Van Corlear Brought Into the Presence of Peter Stuyvesant.jpg | Antony van Corlear Brought into the Presence of Peter Stuyvesant (1839) by John Quidor

File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Childhood, 1840 (Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute).jpg | The Voyage of Life (Childhood, 1840) by Thomas Cole

File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Youth, 1840 (Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute).jpg | The Voyage of Life (Youth, 1840) by Thomas Cole

File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Manhood, 1840 (Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute).jpg | The Voyage of Life (Manhood, 1840) by Thomas Cole

File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Old Age, 1840 (Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute).jpg | The Voyage of Life (Old Age, 1840) by Thomas Cole

File:Frederic Edwin Church - Sunset 1856.jpg | Sunset (1856) by Frederic Edwin Church

File:Robert S. Duncanson - Vale of Kashmir - 2014.12 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tiff | Vale of Kashmir (1864) by Robert Duncanson

File:Montagnes - Rosa Bonheur Munson PC. 6.jpg | Mountains (1875) by Rosa Bonheur

File:Italian girl (1880), by Léon Bonnat.jpg | Italian Girl (1880) by Léon Bonnat

File:Harnett William A Study Table 1882.jpg | A Study Table (1882) by William Michael Harnett

File:Chase William Merritt Memories 1885.jpg | Memories (1885) by William Merritt Chase

File:Jules Breton Young Women Going to a Procession.jpg | Young Women Going to a Procession (1888) by Jules Breton

File:John Peto - Fish House Door.JPG | Fish House Door with Eel Basket (1890-99) by John Peto

File:Sheep and Goats - Rosa Bonheur - Munson PC7.jpg | Sheep and Goats (1891) by Rosa Bonheur

File:Piet Mondriaan - Arbre.jpg | Tree (Horizontal Tree) (1912) by Piet Mondrian

File:Making the Calendar.jpg | Making the Calendar (1947) by Arshile Gorky

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References

External links