Everson Museum of Art - Syracuse, NY - Excellent Collection of American Art

The Everson Museum of Art is located at 401 Harrison Street in Syracuse, NY. This location is just west of the I-81 interstate and near the Oncenter Complex in Syracuse. The Museum was founded in 1897 by George Fisk Comfort, a patron of the arts who also helped establish the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC ("The Met''). The Museum's first exhibition was held in 1900 and in 1911 the decision was made that the Everson Museum would only collect American art. Everson became the first museum dedicated to this purpose.

I.M. Pei, a Chinese-born American architect, eventually was cast to design the current (begun in 1965) building for the Museum. Pei has won the Pritzker Prize and has designed major buildings in Boston, Qatar, Japan, and Paris. The Everson Museum that Pei designed is significant because, unlike museums that are traditionally seen as places to house and store artwork, Pei designed the Everson Museum so that it, too, is artwork. Thus, the building itself is seen as sculpture.

One of the earliest acquisitions by the Museum included 76 items crafted by Adelaide Alsop Robineau. In 1932, the Ceramic National exhibition was created at the Museum in honor of Robineau. Since then, the Museum has acquired the largest American ceramics collection in the USA. There are over 4,000 pieces that date from 1,000CE to the present. Some of the artists and pieces collected include: Rookwood, Fulper, Grueby, Tiffany, George Ohr, Newcomb and Marblehead.

The Museum also keeps a large collection of American paintings. There are over 700 pieces of art in this permanent collection. The collection features works by Charles Hawthorne, Robert Henri, John Sloan, John Marin and Arthur B. Carles. Several of its more famous items include Edward Hick's The Peaceable Kingdom and Gilbert Stuart's paintings of George Washington.

In concert with current exhibitions, the Museum offers frequent films, lectures, and workshops relevant to the events at the Museum. One of these events is the Contemporary Film Series. In February 2010, celebrating Black History Month, the Museum is presenting Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed?, a CBS News documentary from 1968 hosted by Bill Cosby. To celebrate Women's History Month in March 2010, the Museum is showing the 2007 film Persepolis. These events are free of charge and are held in the Hosmer Auditorium.

Also in 2010, running from April to July, the Museum is presenting Fantasies and Fairy-Tales: Maxfield Parrish and the Art of the Print. This exhibition celebrates American artist Maxfield Parrish's paintings in printed media. Parrish was known for his vibrant and innovation painting techniques.

Docent-led tours are available free of charge in English, French, or Spanish. Group tours are limited to a maximum of 50 guests. The tours last roughly one hour and are given Monday through Friday from 9:00am to noon. The Museum requests that reservations be made minimally two weeks in advance. Interested parties can call 315-474-6064 for more information.

Admission to the Museum is free, but guests are requested to make a small donation. The Museum is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12pm - 6pm, Thursdays and Fridays from 12pm - 9pm, and on weekends from 9am - 6pm. Photographs and video of the permanent collection is allowed with permission from the Museum.