The Taubman Museum of Art is marking 75 years in Roanoke.
That starts Friday, with a display of 241 newly-acquired works as part of 75th Anniversary: New Visions for the Permanent Collection. There are more than 2,500 works in that collection, focused on American art from the 19th century to present day.
Executive Director Cindy Petersen said the Taubman is also looking back on its impact, conducting more than 150 interviews for an oral history project.
“I’ve asked questions - to describe the museum and its impact in the community in three adjectives or phrases," she explained. "What have been some of their favorite exhibitions or art works? What was their first memory of the museum for them? What do they hope for that first-time visitor coming in?”
Those stories will be placed in time capsule, to be unveiled 75 years from now.
Starting in April, the Taubman will offer behind-the-scenes architecture tours of its downtown museum, an eye-catching structure that opened in 2008.
"You'll get to see the freight elevator, and actually ride it, and you'll go to the boiler room, up to the roof, and be able to see the HVAC system," Petersen said. "And really understanding those special highlights of that architectural gem that Randall Stout intended."
The museum has been in four locations. The earliest version of what would much later become the Taubman got started as the Roanoke Fine Arts Center, in the 1950’s, at 25th and Carolina Avenue in South Roanoke, in a home owned by Mr. and Mrs. J. Meade Harris.
In 1965, the Fine Arts Center and Junior League jointly purchased the family estate of Anne Funkhouser Francis, known as "Cherry Hill." In 1980, The Roanoke Fine Arts Center changed its name to the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, and three years later, relocated to Center in the Square downtown.
In 1992, the Fine Arts Center adopted a new name, the Art Museum of Western Virginia, and a few years later, the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust began acquiring works from major American artists for the museum.
In 2002, Peggy Macdowell Thomas, the grandniece of Thomas Eakins, passed away. She had gifted her entire Eakins Collection to the museum, prompting the need to relocate. That same year, Randall Stout was chosen for the design of that new facility.
In 2005, the Museum’s Board of Trustees revealed it will be named for U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Taubman and Eugenia Taubman, in honor of their lead gift. The museum opened its doors at the current location on November 8, 2008.
The weekend celebration of free events marking 75 years includes two free panel discussions. Four artists will be part of "New Works, New Voices," discussing their creative practices as part of a conversation Friday.
Three collectors whose vision contributed to the Taubman's holdings will be part of Sunday's discussion "A Lasting Vision: Conversation on Building the Taubman's Permanent Collection." Registration is required for both talks.
