Long Beach Museum of Art
| Type | Art museum |
|---|---|
| Established | 1950 |
| Location | 2300 East Ocean Boulevard Long Beach, CA 90803 |
| Website | [www.lbma.org] |
The Long Beach Museum of Art is a museum located on Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States.
The museum's permanent collection includes approximately 3,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative arts objects. Particular strengths include American decorative arts objects, early 20th century European art, California Modernism, and contemporary art of California.
The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums program and is accredited by the American Association of Museums.
History
The museum occupies the historic 1912 Elizabeth Milbank Anderson house and carriage house (both attributed to architect Charles Alonzo Rich[1]) and a later two-story pavilion, and includes oceanfront gardens. The original structure was built in 1912 as a summer home for Elizabeth Milbank Anderson. In 1926, the house became Long Beach’s first social, athletic, and beach club, the Club California Casa Real. From 1929 to 1944 the house was privately owned again, and during World War II it became the U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer’s Club. It was purchased by the City of Long Beach in 1950 for a Municipal Art Center, and was designated in 1957 as the Long Beach Museum of Art. Today, the Museum is still owned by the City of Long Beach but its day-to-day operations are handled by a private foundation, the Long Beach Museum of Art Foundation. In the late 1990s, the Foundation undertook a capital campaign for the restoration of the historic facilities, relocation of the carriage house and construction of the new two-story exhibition pavilion. The project was completed in September, 2000.
Visiting
The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 11am-5pm, and until 8pm on Thursdays. Admission is free to the museum on Fridays.
The museum also has an oceanview café with outdoor tables, Claire's at the Museum, that is open for lunch and also has a popular weekend brunch. The restaurant is named in honor of Claire Falkenstein, an American sculptor who created the restaurant's centerpiece, Structure and Flow, a fountain with twisting latticework, which was donated to the museum in 1972.[2]
Education and Programs
The museum hosts free family artmaking workshops on the third Sunday of each month from 1pm-3pm, and hosts exhibitions of artwork made by children and students of the community in its Toyota Children's Gallery.
Since 1999, the museum has provided education through its KidsVisions Program to all fifth grade students in the Long Beach Unified School District. The program content follows the guidelines of the National, State, and Long Beach School District Standards for Visual and Performing Arts.
The museum offers Toyota Tours free of charge to all school groups (public or private). Tours are available on Fridays beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The museum schedules educator-led tours for the general public for groups of 10-15.
See also
References
- ^ The Buildings and Projects of Lamb & Rich, Architects,and Related Firms, 1876-1935
- ^ "Claire's at the Museum". Long Beach Museum of Art. 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
External links
- Long Beach Museum of Art Official Website
33°45′49″N 118°09′53″W / 33.7635°N 118.1648°W
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