The Brauer Museum of Art is an art museum at

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

, a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History The site of present-day Valparaiso ...

. It is home to a collection of 19th- and 20th-century

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization, there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

, world

religious art Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...

, and Midwestern regional art. It is located in the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts (VUCA). Prior to the museum's opening, the university's collection was housed and displayed within several buildings across campus. It was named the Brauer Museum of Art in 1996 to honor the collection's long-time director and curator, Richard H. W. Brauer. The university began exploring selling parts of its art collection in 2023, to significant controversy and adverse legal action, and closed the museum in the summer of 2024. The museum reopened in November 2024.

History

In February 2023, The Brauer came under fire for plans to sell three major works from its collection—'' Mountain Landscape'' by

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painting, landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for paintin ...

, '' The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate'' by

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

, and '' Rust Red Hills'' by

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

—to fund improvements to a Valparaiso University dormitory. The university closed the museum entirely and fired its director in the summer of 2024. The museum reopened with increased security in November 2024. The former director was made the museum's curator.

Collection

The collection of the museum includes landscape paintings by

, Asher B. Durand, John F. Kensett and the largest known collection of works by painter Junius R. Sloan. Large late 19th-century paintings by T. Alexander Harrison and

Elizabeth Nourse Elizabeth Nourse (October 26, 1859 – October 8, 1938) was a realist-style genre, portrait, and landscape painter born in Mt. Healthy, Ohio, in the Cincinnati area. She also worked in decorative painting and sculpture. Described by her contempo ...

;

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

paintings by

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...

and Robert Reid, and urban realist paintings by

William Glackens William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of De ...

and

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...

also comprise some of the Brauer Museum's permanent collection of over 2,700 pieces. The Brauer Museum of Art holds 150 photographs and seven silkscreen prints by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

, including an iconic soup can painting. The museum also holds early modernist paintings by

John Marin John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist visual artist. He is known for his abstract landscape paintings and watercolors. Early life and education Marin was born on December 23, 1870, in Rutherford, N ...

Walt Kuhn Walter Francis Kuhn (October 27, 1877 – July 13, 1949) was an American painter and an organizer of the famous Armory Show of 1913, which was America's first large-scale introduction to European Modernism. Biography Kuhn was born in New Yor ...

and

. Other contemporary works include artists such as

Elaine de Kooning Elaine Marie Catherine de Kooning ( , ; ; March 12, 1918 – February 1, 1989) was an Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Expressionist painter in the post-World War II era. She wrote extensively on the art of the period and was an editorial ...

Ed Paschke Edward Francis Paschke (June 22, 1939 – November 25, 2004) was an American painter. His childhood interest in animation and cartoons, as well as his father's creativity in wood carving and construction, led him toward a career in art. As a stud ...

Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealism, photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits ...

, Diego Lasansky,

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

, Frank Dudley John Himmelfarb, and

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

. The Brauer Museum frequently hosts special exhibitions and events. Such events feature the works of such artists as

and

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

References

External links

* Art museums and galleries established in 1996 Valparaiso University University museums in Indiana Art museums and galleries in Indiana Museums in Porter County, Indiana 1996 establishments in Indiana Buildings and structures in Valparaiso, Indiana {{Indiana-struct-stub