The first art museum west of the Mississippi River is getting a new name and a new, state-of-the-art building designed by one of the world’s premier architects, thanks to a $5 million gift from one of Missouri’s most distinguished families, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced today.
On April 14, the University will break ground on the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, formerly the Washington University Gallery of Art. The 65,000-square-foot, limestone-clad structure — dedicated in honor of the late Mildred Lane Kemper — is one of two new buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki as part of the $56.8 million Sam Fox Arts Center.
Maki, who taught in the School of Architecture from 1956-1963, was recently selected to design the new United Nations building in New York and to work on one of five office towers at the former World Trade Center site.
The Sam Fox Arts Center is only his third project to break ground in the United States.
“This is truly a dramatic moment,” Wrighton said. “The Washington University art collection is among the finest in the nation and is a major resource for students, faculty and the general public. Mr. Maki has designed a world-class facility that will enable us, for the first time in a century, to place works from that collection on permanent, year-round display.
“We are deeply indebted to the Kemper family, both for their leadership and for their dedication to the arts in St. Louis.”
The $5 million gift includes $1 million from Mildred’s husband, James M. Kemper Jr., chairman emeritus of Commerce Bancshares Inc.; and $1 million from their son, David W. Kemper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Commerce Bancshares and vice chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Dotty Kemper.
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Stella keynote address to highlight wealth of groundbreaking events A keynote address by internationally acclaimed artist Frank Stella will highlight a wealth of events surrounding the groundbreaking of the Sam Fox Arts Center. Stella, along with Sam Fox Arts Center architect Fumihiko Maki, will speak at 4 p.m. April 14 at the groundbreaking site, just north of Steinberg Hall. A reception will immediately follow. The event is free and open to the University community, but space is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, call (866) 784-4600 or e-mail sfac@wustl.edu. At 4 p.m. April 13, the Sam Fox Arts Center and the Olin School of Business’ Real Estate Club will host a panel discussion on “Arts as a Catalyst for Urban Renewal” in Simon Hall, Room 112. Robert Duffy, architecture critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, will moderate the discussion. Panelists will include Vincent Schoemehl, president and chief executive officer of Grand Center Inc. and former mayor of St. Louis; Robert Freedman, vice chairman of the board and president of Brokerage & Corporate Services for GVA Williams Real Estate, New York; and theatrical producer David Mirvish, owner of The Royal Alexandra Theatre and The Princess of Wales Theatre, both in Toronto. On April 14, the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences will present a series of “art history open classrooms.” Participating classes include Associate Professor Angela Miller’s “The American West” at 10 a.m. and Assistant Professor Gwen Bennett’s “Korea and Japan” at 2:30 p.m., both in Steinberg Hall, Room 200. From 1-4 p.m., the School of Art’s Island Press and painting and printmaking major areas will present an open house in Bixby Hall. Art & Architecture Library tours will be held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. At 2 p.m. the School of Architecture will host a pair of book-signings in Givens Hall: Maki will sign copies of his recently reissued Investigation In Collective Forms, while Eric Mumford, associate professor of architecture, will sign copies of Modern Architecture in St. Louis, 1948-1973. St. Louis Osuwa Taiko will present a Japanese drum performance at 3:15 p.m. adjacent to the groundbreaking site. From 6-8 p.m. that evening, the School of Art’s MFA First-Year Exhibition will open at the Des Lee Gallery, 1627 Washington Ave. The open classrooms will resume April 15 in Steinberg Auditorium. Participating classes include Professor Sarantis Symeonoglou’s “Homeric Archaeology” at 10 a.m.; Assistant Professor Rebecca de Roo’s “Introduction to Modern Art” at 11:30 a.m.; and Bennett’s “Introduction to Asian Art” at 1 p.m. The open classes will end with “Illustrated Entertainment,” taught by Miller and D.B. Dowd, associate professor of art, at 2:30 p.m. |
An additional $3 million is provided by the William T. Kemper Foundation, which was established in 1989 after the death of James’ uncle, William T. Kemper.
Mildred Lane Kemper graduated from Wellesley College and was a longtime resident of Kansas City, Mo. She was a trustee of Wellesley College for many years and had a lifelong interest in higher education.
The Mildred Lane Kemper Chair in Art History at Wellesley is held by Lilian Armstrong.
“Our family and foundation are delighted to honor my mother by naming the new art museum at Washington University,” David Kemper said. “She would be very pleased that this beautiful building will be both a place to display great art and a gathering spot for the University and the St. Louis community.”
The Kemper Art Museum is the centerpiece of the five-building Sam Fox Arts Center, which also includes Steinberg Hall, Maki’s first commission and current home of the Gallery of Art; Bixby and Givens halls, the recently renovated, Beaux Arts-era homes to the schools of Art and Architecture, respectively; and the new, Maki-designed Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall, a 38,000-square-foot studio facility replacing the School of Art’s off-campus Lewis Center.
The Kemper Art Museum will feature more than 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as offices and storage facilities. The building will also include an outdoor sculpture garden; a gallery for use by faculty and students; the 3,000-square-foot Newman Money Museum; offices and classrooms for the Department of Art History & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences; and the 13,000-square-foot Kenneth and Nancy Kranzberg Information Center.
“We are literally transforming the traditional approach to studying the visual arts,” said Mark S. Weil, Ph.D., the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts and director of both the Kemper Art Museum and the Sam Fox Arts Center. “For the first time in our history, students and faculty from across the Univer-sity’s visual arts and design programs will be able to work alongside one another in a single, central location.”
Construction of both the Kemper Art Museum and Walker Hall will begin immediately following Commencement May 21 and is scheduled to last 18-24 months. New facilities will open in spring 2006.
To date, the University has accumulated resources totaling $53.4 million in gifts, commitments and allocations, leaving $3.4 million to be raised.
The University’s art collection was founded in 1881 as part of the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. Beginning in 1906, the collection was housed largely at the Saint Louis Art Museum, but returned to campus with the opening of Steinberg Hall in 1960.
Today, the collection encompasses some 3,000 objects. The strongest areas are in 19th- and 20th-century European and American art, including a substantial modern collection built in the mid-1940s by famed art historian H.W. Janson.
Other major holdings include two Egyptian mummies, several Greek vases and the Wulfing Collection of approximately 14,000 Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins, as well as a large number of prints, drawings and photographs.
The William T. Kemper Foundation is dedicated to continuing William Kemper’s lifelong interest in improving the human condition and quality of life. The foundation supports Midwest communities and concentrates on initiatives in education, health and human services, civic improvements and the arts.