Newcomb Art Museum Named Best Gallery Or Museum In Louisiana By American Art Awards

Each year the American Art Awards board selects the 25 Best Galleries And Museums In America.

HighlightHollywood.com reported in 2016: “The impressive AAA board chooses only one museum or gallery per state per year. Their selections are based on years established, industry reputation, online buzz, location, size, socially relevant exhibits, motivational and educational programs, represented artists as well as artist, client and visitor references.”

American Art Awards: “We consider thousands of the most established art venues from Alaska to Florida. This year we chose several museums and art centers with historical significance of 100+ years, some with over 100,000 annual visitors, some specializing in global acquisitions, some American treasures, others offering objects preserving their state’s legacy, and some celebrating one specific artist’s life work. We’ve also selected some of the most reputable art galleries; some which offer every style of international art, others exhibiting works from one region or one genre. A Native-American and an African-American facility are included in our Top 25, as well as a long-standing women’s design institution, a popular Boston sculptor’s co-op, and a Hollywood Warhol hot spot.”

Newcomb Art Museum won the distinction of Best Gallery Or Museum In Louisiana, 2018, and one of American Art Awards 25 Best American Galleries / Museums, 2018.

American Art Awards: “Newcomb Art Museum has a profound legacy of education, social enterprise and artistic experience. Their exhibitions routinely awe, inspire and engage students and visitors. This is a rare art institution which has focused on the contributions of women to the fields of art and design for over 130 years.”

Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University is located in the Woldenberg Art Center on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans. While widely known for its significant collection of Newcomb pottery, the institution today focuses on contemporary exhibitions and programs that explore innovative art and design.

EXHIBITIONS:

The Museum rotates their exhibitions seasonally and has presented exhibitions featuring the work of such recognized artists as Mickalene Thomas, Peter Voulkos, Barbara Takenaga, Pat Steir, KAWS, Joan Mitchell, Shirin Neshat, Marsden Hartley, Chakaia Booker, Carrie Mae Weems, Diane Arbus, Nick Cave, and Ellsworth Kelly, as well as artists with a Newcomb connection like Mark Rothko and Ida Kohlmeyer. Honoring the legacy of Newcomb College, the Museum regularly presents shows that recognize the artistic contributions of women.

Along with its exhibitions the museum regularly holds community programs and events such as artist and author lectures, film screenings, family days, public exhibition and collection tours, performances, studio demonstrations, and craft workshops. The museum’s original exhibitions explore socially engaged art, civic dialogue, and community transformation. As an entity of an academic institution, the Museum presents exhibitions that utilize the critical frameworks of diverse disciplines in conceptualizing and interpreting art and design.

COLLECTIONS:

The Museum maintains the world’s largest collection of Newcomb arts and crafts including outstanding examples of pottery, embroidery, bound books, and metalwork. The Museum also has a significant collection of drawings, watercolors, paintings, and prints by Newcomb-affiliated teachers, artists, and designers as well as Louisiana portraiture, neo-classical sculpture, and prints primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries.

HISTORY:

The academic institution for which the Museum is named was founded in 1886 as the first degree-granting coordinate college for women in America, preceding such schools as Barnard College of Columbia University and Pembroke College of Brown University. The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was distinguished for educating women in the sciences, physical education, and, most importantly, the arts.

Out of its famed arts program, the Newcomb Pottery was born. In operation from 1895 until 1940, the quasi-commercial enterprise produced metalwork, fiber arts, and the now internationally renowned ceramic wares.

In 1996 — roughly a century after the founding of the Newcomb Pottery — the Newcomb Art Department completed an expansion and renovation of its facilities in the Woldenberg Art Center. This included the addition of the Newcomb Art Gallery.

The Newcomb Art Gallery officially became the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University in 2015. The change was made to distinguish the art space from a commercial gallery and to indicate its status as a collections-holding institution.

Newcomb Art Museum | Woldenberg Art Center | Newcomb Circle
Tulane University | 6823 St Charles Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70118

504.865.5328

HOURS: Tuesday — Friday: 10–5, Saturday: 11–4

WEBSITE: newcombartmuseum.tulane.edu

SOCIAL MEDIA: facebook.com/newcombartmuseum, instagram: @newcombmuseum, twitter: @newcombmuseum

CURRENT EXHIBITION: Newcomb Art Museum’s current exhibition, EMPIRE, celebrates the New Orleans tricentennial. EMPIRE is an art installation by Los Angeles based artists Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young) commissioned and presented by Newcomb Art Museum, A Studio in the Woods, and Pelican Bomb. Through the assembly of over 300 objects, the artists transformed the entire museum into one immersive artwork that explores the history of people and place in terms of cultural legacy, historical narrative, and social constructs. The exhibition is on view through December 21, 2018. Several programs including a discussion marking Juneteenth are planned for the year. Visit the website to learn more.

www.AmericanArtAwards.com annually awards 25 museums and galleries in Spring, and with their critique in Autumn, awards 300 artists (painters, photographers, sculptors and digital artists).

ALL 25 BEST GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS HERE: https://www.americanartawards.com/2018-best-american-galleries-and-museums/