Longview Museum of Fine Arts

The Longview Museum of Fine Arts (LMFA) is an art museum in downtown Longview, Texas. It was founded in 1958 by the Junior Service League of Longview. Since 1998, it has been on Tyler Street in downtown Longview.

Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Exterior of the Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Longview Museum of Fine Arts is located in Texas
Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Location within Texas
Longview Museum of Fine Arts is located in the United States
Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Longview Museum of Fine Arts (the United States)
Established1958
LocationLongview, Texas, United States
Coordinates32°29′41″N 94°44′16″W
TypeArt museum
FounderJunior Service League of Longview
Websitewww.lmfa.org

The LMFA's permanent collection consists of over 700 works of art and its primary focus is contemporary art from Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The museum also hosts both traveling and temporary exhibitions while also offering a variety of art education classes.

History

The LMFA was established in 1958 by the Junior Service League of Longview. In 1959, it hosted its first annual Invitational Exhibit, with Dallas Museum of Art director Jerry Bywaters serving as both the consultant and the juror for the exhibit. During its early years, the LMFA was operated by the staff of the Nicholson Memorial Library. In 1970, the Junior Service League's art collection was placed at the LMFA on permanent loan and it was granted a museum charter by the State of Texas.[1]

Since its foundation in 1958, the LMFA has been physically located at five different sites.[1] Jane Akins, one of the women involved with the museum at its inception, noted that the Junior Service League members would transport paintings from site to site themselves in their personal station wagons.[2] On January 17, 1998, the LMFA's current location on Tyler Street in downtown Longview opened with a workshop and lectures by photographers Ruth Bernhard and Michael Kenna,[1][3] after the building had been renovated the previous year.[1]

In 2005, the LMFA opened its Judge J. T. Smith Sculpture Garden on the corner of Tyler Street and Fredonia Street.[1] In 2012, the museum opened the ArtWorks Creative Learning Center, an educational annex that offers space for classes previously taught in the museum building itself.[4]

Collections

Selections from the LMFA's permanent collection are on display in its main gallery, the Wrather Gallery. The collection, which consists of over 700 etchings, paintings, photographs, woodcuts, and more pieces of art, is too large to display in its entirety and is thus rotated into and out of the gallery. The primary focus of the permanent collection is contemporary art created by Texas artists as well as those from around the region in the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.[1]

Exhibitions and events

The LMFA hosts both traveling and temporary exhibitions for up to six weeks in its Martin-Stoudt Gallery (Premier I) and Barrow-Cave Gallery (Premier II). The Sculpture Garden hosts rotating exhibits on a yearly basis.[1]

Exhibitions at the LMFA have featured the work of African American artists (including Arthello Beck and Leamon Green),[5] the photography of Rolling Stone,[6] an Andy Warhol exhibition,[7] and the museum's annual Student Invitational, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020.[8] [9]

During the summer, the LMFA also hosts a variety of art education classes, including children's art classes, adult sculpture classes, and photography classes that are open to adults and high school students.[10]

References

  1. "History". Longview Museum of Fine Arts. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. Ferguson, Jo Lee (July 1, 2018). "Exhibit marks Longview museum's 60th birthday". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020 via Newspapers.com icon of an open green padlock.
  3. "Photographers to give lecture series". Longview News-Journal. February 13, 1998. Retrieved March 8, 2020 via Newspapers.com icon of an open green padlock.
  4. Ward, Angela (July 14, 2012). "Creation education: Longview Museum of Fine Arts officially opens ArtWorks annex". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020 via Newspapers.com icon of an open green padlock.
  5. Ferguson, Jo Lee (January 16, 2004). "Exhibit of diversity: Longview Museum of Fine Arts celebrates black artists". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020 via Newspapers.com icon of an open green padlock.
  6. "'Backstage Pass:' Exhibit offers look at 'Rolling Stone' photography at LMFA". Longview News-Journal. April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  7. "Second Andy Warhol Exhibit Pops in the Upper East Side of Texas". County Line Magazine. December 29, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  8. Boyum, Jamey (March 4, 2019). "More than 300 student pieces on display at Longview Museum of Fine Arts". KLTV. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  9. Daniell, Jimmy (March 8, 2020). "Longview Museum of Fine Arts opens Student Invitational". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  10. Maldonado, Jamie (July 1, 2001). "Summer art: Longview Museum of Fine Arts offers classes making kids' vacations a little more artistic". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020 via Newspapers.com icon of an open green padlock.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.