The Dayton Art Institute

If you live in or are going to visit Dayton, Ohio, and want to visit an art museum that has been rated one of the top ten art museums for children and one of the top ten art museums in North America in three of four categories, you might want to visit the Dayton Art Museum. The museum has notable works by such artists as Peter Paul Rebens, Edward Hooper, Dale Chihuly, Edgar Degas, Charles Sheeler, Albert Bierstadt, and Bartolomeo Manfredi. It has hosted rare exhibits that few other museums have. Additional highlights include 17th century Baroque paintings, 18th and 19th century American art, a contemporary collection, and an Asian collection.

The Dayton Art Institute was modeled after the the Italian RenaissanceVilla d'Este, near Rome, as well as the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, Italy. The Dayton Art Insitute passes through the center of Dayton and is easily accessible from Interstate 75. Admission is free. The museum is nearly 60,000 square feet.

The museum has more than 20,000 objects, some of which date back 5,000 years. The museum hosted The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt, in September, 2005. The exhibit is the largest collection of ancient artifacts ever to travel outside of Egypt. Only ten other galleries have hosted the exhibit.

Peter Paul Reubens, whose work, Study Heads of an Old Man, is displayed in the Dayton Art Institute, was well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, landscapes, and portraits. Edward Hooper, whose work, High Noon, is displayed, was best known for was best known for his oil paintings. Albert Bierstadt, whose work, Scene in Yosemite Valley, is displayed, is best known for painting large landscapes of the American West.

Exhibitions currently on display at the Dayton Art Institute include Hello World! Rarely Seen Art from our Collection, Dali and Disney: the Art and Animation of Destino, 90 treasures, and the Harold W. Shaw Pre Columbian Collection.

The Hello World! Collection includes items not displayed for many years or that are new, including decorative arts, figures, landscapes, portraits, and items representing many cultures from a 2,000 year period.

The Dali and Disney collection includes eight limited prints of art Salvador Dali made for Walt Disney to use in a film that was never made at the time, as Disney abandonded the product. In 2003, however, Roy Disney completed the Destino project Walt Disney had abandonded. The 2003 short film has not been seen in many places since its completion, but visitors to the Dayton Art Institute can view it.

The 90 Treasures exhibit celebrates the Dayton Art Institute's 90 years in existence. Because of the wide variety of 1000 examples of fine art the museum has, according to museum officials, picking 90 special items was not easy.

The Harold W. Shaw Pre Columbian Collection includes gold, silver, ceramic, stone, and jade works from ancient Meso-America and South America.

There are exhibits on Indian, Tibetan, early Chinese, Korean, African, Native American (including ceramics, textiles, and woven baskets), American, Colonial and Early Republic, ancient art (including a painted relief of an Egyptian noble couple), and Japanese art.

Special events at the museum have included a jazz tribute to Duke Ellington, nature films, an art ball which included food and jazz music, and a variety of receptions honoring exhibits and museum members.

There are a variety of programs for children and adults at the Dayton Art Institute. Some include art camps, studio classes, and family programs. There are adult classes that help students represent the human form using a variety of materials.

Citations: Dayton Art Institute, no author listed, Enwikipedia.org
The Dayton Art Institute, no author listed, Daytonartinstitute.org