Indianapolis Museum of Art Receives $300,000 Grant

Edward Hopper,  American,  1882-1967, The Railroad Tracks1931, oil on canvas, 32 x 50 in. 38 x 56 in. (framed). Emma Harter Sweetser Fund- 32.177. Image courtesy of Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA)

ART NEWS: A $300,000 grant has been awarded to the Indianapolis Museum of Art for the digitization of its American Art Collection, including paintings, sculptures, textiles, design objects, and Native American art

INDIANAPOLIS – The Henry Luce Foundation has awarded a $300,000 grant to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). The grant will assist the Museum in documenting more than 5,000 objects in the IMA’s collection of American art. Spread over a 36 month grant period, the digitization period will focus primarily on paintings, sculptures, textiles, design objects, and Native American art.

“It is essential for the IMA to expand our ability to make our collections available to the public and to scholars throughout the world,” said Dr. Charles L. Venable, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the IMA.

American Art Collection

IMA’s American art collection is one of the best in the nation and an excellent resource for art scholars and students of all levels. With the generous support of the Luce Foundation, the museum will digitize and post a large part of its American art collection online. This will make the collection available to frequent visitors and audiences who visit the IMA virtually through its website.

The Luce Foundation’s grant is the next major step in the IMA’s digitization efforts, and its goal to expand the online presence of and access to the IMA’s collections, images, archives, libraries, publications and promote the use of IMA assets by the public and by specialized scholars. Luce Foundation grant funds will support the hiring of temporary full-time staff members and the purchase of equipment essential to the completion of the digitization project.

In the future, the Indianapolis Museum of Art hopes to use the content created by this project to enhance on-site visitors’ experiences in the American galleries through technology. One example is a bench or wall-mounted iPads that feature newly digitized content. The idea is similar to the interactive content implemented in recent special exhibitions such as Matisse: Life in Color and The Essential Robert Indiana. The project is expected to be underway in early October 2014.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Founded in 1883, the Indianapolis Museum of Art serves the creative interests of its communities by fostering exploration of arts, design, and the natural environment. Encompassing 152 acres of gardens and grounds, the Indianapolis Museum of Art is among the 10 oldest and 10 largest encyclopedic art museums in the United States. It features significant collections of African, American, Asian, European, contemporary art, and design arts that span 5,000 years of history.

Additionally, art, design, and nature are at The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, Oldfields–Lilly House and Gardens, a historic Country Place Era estate and National Historic Landmark on the IMA grounds, and the Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana, one of the country’s most highly regarded examples of mid-century Modernist residences.

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