Kresge Art Museum Records

Record Group

Identifier: UA-16.15.2

Scope and Contents

See more See less

This collection primarily consists of materials relating to the Friends of the Kresge Art Gallery and exhibits hosted by the Kresge Art Museum, ranging in date from the 1940s through 2011. Within the Friends series, materials include board meeting minutes, membership and director lists, bylaws, fundraising, galas, event information, and newsletters. The Exhibit series consists of brochures, correspondence, news releases, photographs, inventory of art pieces, and condition reports relating to exhibits hosted at the Kresge Art Museum. Additionally, a Docent series includes docent meeting minutes, history of the program, program guidelines, and docent newsletters. The remainder of this collection consists of materials relating to the Better Art Museum (BAM) project and Broad Art Museum planning, board and committee materials, correspondence, K-12 progrraming materials and teacher resources, policies, press clippings and releases, publications about the Kresge Art Museum, and various lectures and symposiums.

There are restricted materials, such as insurance costs and inventory of the collection, but these materials are back-up copies of the Kresge and Broad Art Museum holdings. Anybody asking to view these materials must contact the Registrar at the Broad Art Museum.

Archivist’s note: because of the cross-over of personnel and programs relating to the Kresge Art Museum, there are materials in this collection that may relate to the Susan J. Bandes Papers (UA 17.468).

Dates

Creation: 1948 - 2011

Creator

Kresge Art Museum (Donor, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Historical Note

See more See less

The Kresge Art Museum began at Michigan State University in 1930 when the Art Department first began to publicly display various art works. For many years it did not have a permanent home so the small collection moved to various locations on campus. In 1945, three Mexican retablos were donated to the Art Department which established the official art collection at the University. With the backing of the Kresge Foundation in 1959, the new Kresge Art Center was constructed for the Art Department and an area known as the Gallery was established near the front to house the collection. In 1984 the name was changed to the Kresge Art Museum. To help campaign for a new and bigger museum, the Better Art Museum (BAM) committee was formed in 1999. In 2007, MSU announced a $26 million gift from Eli and Edythe Broad to build a new museum. In 2009, the Kresge Art Museum celebrated its 50th Anniversary, but the museum closed in July 2011 to make way for the opening of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.

Full Extent

18 Cubic Feet (18 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The exhibits are arranged in chronological order.

Legal Status

Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to Michigan State University but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Copyright restrictions may apply. Property Rights: Michigan State University.