During your visit to the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, explore its permanent collection as well as 10 to 15 changing art exhibits that feature art of many styles and periods each year. The Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts also houses the Gallery Shop where you can buy merchandise unique to the art museum.
Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts Permanet Collection
The Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts boasts more than 4,000 works of art in its permanent collection found on view in its lower galleries with particular emphasis on American painting, sculpture and ceramics; American and European works on paper; and photography. More recently, the collection has been expanded to include Oceanic, Pre-Columbian gold and ceramics and African and East Asian art.
African-American Art
Within the African-American Art collection discover works by artists such as Charles Henry Alston, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Hughie Lee-Smith. Additionally the collection features The Marriage of Hiawatha, a marble sculpture made in 1872 by Edmonia Lewis.
American Painting and Sculpture
The American Painting and Sculpture Collection is comprised of works both prior and post 1900s. Prior 1900’s works include paintings by Grafton Tyler Brown, William Merritt Chase, John Singleton Copley, Eastman Johnson and Louis Comfort Tiffany while post 1900’s paintings and sculptures featured in the collection include works by Milton Avery, Deborah Butterfield, Dale Chihuly, Andy Warhol and Richard Wilt.
Art of Non-Western Cultures
Art of Non-Western Cultures includes works by Chinese, African, Costa Rican, Panamanian and Oceanic artists. Marvel at paintings by Kawase Hasui, Hirosada Konishi and Ohara Shoson. Additional works include a teabowl made by Tamamizu Ichigen, a Bamana Chiwara Antelope Headress from Africa, a Chinese Junyao splashed bowl, an Anthropomorphic Pendant from Costa Rica, an Oceanic Skull Mask and a Panamanian gold Necklace of Seven Frogs.
Ceramics
Ceramics made by Rudy Autio, Ruth Duckworth, Kenneth Ferguson, Paul Flickinger, Chris Gustin, Shoji Hamada, Steven Hill, Chuck Hindes, Tamamizu Ichigen, Bernard Leach and Maria Martinez make up the art museum’s Ceramics Collection. Highlighted in the collection is the whiteware pigeon made by Pablo Picasso in 1959.
Photography
The Photography Collection is made up of photographs by Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Julia Margaret Cameron, Frederick Henry Evans, Robert Mapplethorpe, O. Winston Link, Andreas Gursky, Larry Fink, Arnold Newman, Gordon Parks, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Alfred Stieglitz, James Van Der Zee and Todd Webb. Examine postmodern photogrpaher Cindy Sherman’s Untitled piece that deconstructs stereoptypes about women, or Berenice Abbott’s Fifth Avenue Houses, New York taken in 1936.
Prints and Drawings
The Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts boasts a large collection of Prints and Drawings. Featured in the collection is Sailor by Neal Ambrose-Smith, The Nose by William Kentridge, Roy Lichtenstein’s Sunrise, Lincoln Center Ticket by Andy Warhol and Charles Wilbert White’s Trumpet Player.
Tiffany Collection
Of particular importance is the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts’ Tiffany Collection. See a gold, peridot and enamel brooch by Tiffany & Co.; a woodbine table lamp, narcissus vase and horse chestnut vase by Tiffany Studios; and moisac samples, vases, paintings and a Byzantine style inkwell made by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Stop by the Gallery Shop. Jewelry, ceramics, glassware, cards and household goods are available to purchase. Additionally, the Gallery Shop carries arts and crafts made by Michigan artists.
Travel Tip
- Be sure to visit Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts’ Mary and Edwin Meader Fine Arts Library, open to the public for research and enjoyment.