Cincinnati Art Museum

If you want to see one of the oldest art museums in the United States, with one of the most extensive collections in the Midwest, you might want to visit the Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. The museum has a collection of more than 60,000 works, covering a period of 6,000 years. Besides displaying a broad collection of its own, the museum often hosts international and national traveling exhibitions. Current exhibitions include an exhibition of more than 100 Chinese paintings and objects, and an exhibit with portraits of "Average Joes," who have been transformed into famous faces, including sports stars, politicians, and other celebrities. General Admission is free.

There are always a variety of special events, activities, and art-related programs at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The museum is open six days a week. There are additional benefits for arts members.

In the Famous Faces, Average Joes: the Work of exhibit, visitors to the Cincinnati Art Museum can see 20 portraits by Cincinnati native C.W. Payne Payne, who is also internationally known as an editorial illustrator. The works include portraits of Eddie Murphy, Weeb Eubank, Bud Selig, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton.

The exhibit, Roaring Tigers, Leaping Carp: Decoding the Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting, visitors may see 100 Chinese paintings and objects of tigers, fishes, horses, and birds. The work was selected from major museums in Asia and the United States. Some of the museums in Asia who donated work to the current work include the National Palace Museum, Taipei, the Palace Museum, Beijing, and the Shanghai Museum.

The Fourth Floor Award shows the work of local artists and currently displayed is the exhibit, Don Lambert: Supernova Terra Firma. Lambert uses an array of black and white spinning discs to create an illusion of all colors of the rainbow in Flatland VL Array. In Lawn Jobs, Lambert questions our place in the world. Visitors are encouraged to investigate changing boundaries throughout the world in Changing Landscape.

Also displayed in the Cincinnati Art Museum are American paintings and sculptures, European paintings and sculptures, Classical and Near Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art, Decorative Art, and Fashion Art and Textiles.

Works of American Art include a painting of George Washington by Walter Robinson, a painting of Marianne Beckett by Anna Claypoole Peale, a painting of the Corridor by Charles Wheeler Locke, and a painting of Native Americans doing the Harvest Dance by Joseph Henry Sharp.

European works include a painting of the Sacred Hour by Ferdinand Hodler, a sculpture of Venus by Peter Flotner, a cast bronze of Cactus Stealing Cattle from Hercules by Moderno, a portrait of a Lady by John Smart, and a portrait of a Lady by Richard Cosway.

Examples of Far Eastern art include a Mounting for a Sword Scabbard, and the Serpent King and Queen in stone.

The Romanesque building that houses the Cincinnati Art Museum was built by Cincinnati architect James McLaughlin. The building has been several times during its 120 year history. In 2003 the Cincinnati Wing was added to honor art created by Cincinnati artists or for the city. The Odardo Angels are two of the largest pieces in the collection. These are among the first European items to come to Cincinnati. There are more than 400 items in this collection alone.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although admission is free, there is a parking fee of $4 per vehicle.

Citations:

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