About
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
The Memorial Art Gallery is a major cultural center with an outstanding collection of world art, a year-round schedule of exhibitions and educational programs, an art school and a reference library.
Collections:
The Memorial Art Gallery is considered one of the finest regional art museums in the country. Its permanent collection of 11,000 works spans 50 centuries of world art and includes important works by Monet, Cezanne, Matisse, Homer and Cassatt. Contemporary masters in the collection include Wendell Castle, Albert Paley and Helen Frankenthaler. Upstairs, see the only full-size Italian Baroque organ in North America, on permanent loan from the Eastman School of Music.
Founding:
The Memorial Art Gallery was founded in 1913 by Emily Sibley Watson as a memorial to her son, architect James Averell. Given in trust to the University of Rochester, the Memorial Art Gallery is one of the few university-affiliated art museums in the country that also serves as a public art museum. The Memorial Art Gallery is supported primarily by its membership, with additional support from the Memorial Art Gallery’s endowment, earned income, the University of Rochester, and public funds from Monroe County and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Exhibitions:
In 2007-08, the Memorial Art Gallery offered 14 temporary exhibitions, including four major shows.
Programs:
The Memorial Art Gallery’s encyclopedic collection makes it an invaluable educational resource. Throughout the year, the Memorial Art Gallery offers a full schedule of lectures, concerts, guided tours, family activities, educational programs and art classes. Exhibition preview parties attract up to 1,800 visitors.
Group or School tours:
To schedule a tour of a temporary exhibition or the Memorial Art Gallery permanent collection, contact Mary Ann Monley at 585-276-8974 or mmonley@mag.rochester.edu.
Hours:
Wednesday through Sunday 11 am-5 pm and until 9 pm on Thursday. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and major holidays.
Admission:
Free to members, University of Rochester students, and children 5 and under. General admission is $10; college students with ID and senior citizens, $6; children 6-18, $4. Reduced general admission Thursdays 5-9, $6, made possible by the Democrat and Chronicle, Thomson West, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Monroe County.
Art school:
The Creative Workshop of the Memorial Art Gallery offers year-round art and art history classes for adults, teens and children as young as 2 1/2. For a free course catalog, call 585-276-8959, or visit mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop.
Art library:
The Charlotte Whitney Allen Library is open to the public for browsing; Gallery members and University of Rochester students and staff may borrow books. The library also includes a state-of-the-art teacher resource center. For hours, call 585-276-8999, or visit mag.rochester.edu/library.
Events office:
Hold your event in one of Rochester’s most beautiful architectural landmarks! The Memorial Art Gallery is the perfect setting for weddings, rehearsal dinners, retirement or anniversary parties, and bridal or baby showers. Corporate events, conferences, recitals, lectures and community meetings can also be booked by calling 585-276-8950. For details on the rental space available, visit mag.rochester.edu/facilities
Gift shop:
The Gallery Store is open Tuesday, Saturday 10 am-5 pm and until 9 pm Thursday; Sunday 11 am-5 pm.
Membership / Gifts:
To join the Memorial Art Gallery, renew your membership or buy a gift membership, visit mag.rochester.edu/join or call 585-276-8939. We also welcome your donations at mag.rochester.edu/support or at 585-276-8943.
Clothesline Festival:
The Clothesline Festival is the Memorial Art Gallery’s biggest fundraiser. All Clothesline Festival artists’ entry fees and public admission fees go directly to the Memorial Art Gallery’s operating fund. The next Clothesline Festival will be held Saturday, September 12 & Sunday, September 13, 2009. For more information, visit clothesline.rochester.edu.
Special needs:
The Memorial Art Gallery is accessible to the handicapped through the University Avenue entrance. The Fountain Court is equipped with audio systems for the hearing impaired; headsets may be obtained from an usher or security guard prior to performance time. The auditorium is equipped with an induction loop system. To arrange for an interpreter schedule touch tours for the blind, or request a calendar in Braille or text versions, email mmathews@mag.rochester.edu or call 585-276-8970.
For more information:
Call the Memorial Art Gallery Information Desk, 585-276-8900 or email maginfo@mag.rochester.edu.
Comments
Comment from Marjorie Searl
Time: November 19, 2008, 6:46 pm
Five years ago I ran across an article that mentioned MAG, and I just found it on my desk again. It was written by Ed Rubin, who is a critic and a reviewer. Here’s what he wrote:
“While I was smitten with St. Louis and would certainly love to return — it was the private collections that moved me, that set me to thinking about the nature of collecting, the fervor of private collections versus the muted coldness of public ones.
Visiting these private collections, each assembled by a single intellect (if not eye), and fueled by individual desire, reminded me of the many smaller, more personal museums where local minds hold sway. The Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester and the McNay Art Institute in San Antonio come to mind. It is in these museums and even more so in private collections that passion is given a running chance. It is here where surprises ring out, idiosyncracies are common, perversities permitted, new names discovered, old names in unexpected styles resurface, and paintings still breathe life.”
–Ed Rubin, “Following the Pope to Saint Louis: the Max Beckmann Art Junket,” New Art Examiner 26:9 (June 1999) 26-31.
Comment from mat board
Time: February 26, 2009, 11:23 am
That was a great post. I will have to bookmark this site so I can read more later.
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