The North Carolina Museum of Art

There are few states in the USA that can boast as fine a museum as North Carolina's Museum of Art in Raleigh.

Perhaps it was because they got an early jump on the competition when in 1947 the North Carolina General Assembly put aside a million dollars in state funds to buy works of art. It was the first state in the country to use public funds to buy art and it may have been the best million dollars the state ever spent. With the money they bought 139 European and American paintings and sculpture. In 1960 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation donated 75 works of art. In April of 1956 the museum opened in a converted state office building in downtown Raleigh and moved to its present location on Blue Ridge Road on April 5, 1983.

The Museum’s collection contains over 5,000 pieces of art. Works in the galleries are continuously rotated, due to the loaning of art to other institutions as well as for the conservation and preservation of works of art. Along with the permanent collection the museum plays hosts to traveling exhibits of such well known artists as Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris, Toulouse-Lautrec, Ansel Adams, Rodin, and others.

The North Carolina Museum of Art is perhaps best known nationally and internationally for its outstanding European collection, which includes works by masters of European painting and sculpture, from the Renaissance through impressionism. The collection includes works by Giotto, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Antonio Canova, Claude Monet and others.

The Museum’s Modern Gallery features major works by such American artists as Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Franz Kline, Frank Stella, John Biggers, Jacob Lawrence and Thomas Hart Benton, and by modern European masters including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Delvaux, Henry Moore, Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter.

The African Gallery contains many works of African art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Although most of the objects in the collection are made of wood, many are made of terracotta, beads, cast metals, textiles and ivory. The Ancient Collection includes two Egyptian coffins and other funerary art. The collection also contains important examples of Greek and Roman sculpture and vase painting. A nearby gallery of American Art from the 18th and 19th Centuries features paintings by John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and William Merritt Chase. The Ancient American Gallery presents works from the ancient civilizations of Mexico, South America and Central America. Works from Mesoamerica, Peru and Costa Rica include ceramic and terracotta sculptures, stones and painted vases from the 6th to the 11th century.  The Museum contains one of only two galleries in the country devoted to Jewish ceremonial art. Many works in the collection are made of precious materials such as silver, gold and ivory. Works in the collection span from the 18th to the 20th century. The Oceanic Gallery features works from island cultures in the Pacific. Oceanic art is made from a wide variety of natural materials including wood, stone, bone, feathers, textiles, fibers, seeds and shells.

The Blue Ridge, the Museum Restaurant, offers diners both great visual arts and great culinary art. Eclectic fare ranges from salads, sandwiches and entrees at lunch to sumptuous weekend brunches. From savory soups to sweet desserts. For reservations, call (919) 664-6838.

The summertime means great outdoor entertainment at the North Carolina Museum of Art.  From mid-May through mid-September, the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater in the Museum Park is the place to be for the best in live music from around the world. The list of performers is impressive and the setting makes seeing any concert here a memorable one. Their Rodin Exhibit brought about the reunion of local favorites

The North Carolina Museum of Art is accessible to everyone, and arrangements can be made for guided tours for visitors with disabilities.

Admission to the Museum and its permanent collection is free. There is a charge for special exhibitions and some programs, such as concerts, films, classes and performances. For more information, call the Box Office at (919) 715-5923. The North Carolina Museum of Art is at 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607-6494. The easiest way to find it is to get on Interstate 40 and get off at exit 289 toward Raleigh and Wade Ave. Follow Wade Ave. to the Blue Ridge Rd. exit, and take this exit. Turn left onto Blue Ridge Rd. The Museum is on the right. Look for a large granite marker with flags. For more information visit the North Carolina Museum of Art website.

Return to North Carolina Index