The Walters Art Museum: An Institutional History
To understand a museum and its mission, it is best to step back and view the museum in its entire history. The first years of a museum set the tone for its purpose and mission. Additionally, the founders of a collection may have a significant and lasting impact. Some trends will continue throughout the story, while other trends will be deemed unimportant and will be cast aside as the times change. The mission and acquisitions philosophy may drastically evolve, or it may remain the same. The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has a long legacy crafted by its founders that has shaped it into what it is today. Since it was begun, The Walters has striven to act as a center of education, a base for community outreach, a philanthropic force in Baltimore, as well a varied and eclectic collection of art and artifacts. The beginning of The Walters is much like any other art museum: William Walters and his son Henry had a passion for art and instead of hiding their amassed collection from the world, they chose to share it. Add more about their mission and purpose. In order to best understand The Walters and it’s evolution, it is essential to understand the men that founded it. Their passion for community engagement and a collection policy that represented many regions and periods in art were their founding principles. Throughout its history, The Walters has evolved, grown and gone through periods when some facets of its mission were held up above others. But it has come full circle, and many of its founding principles are integral to its mission today. “The Walters Art Museum brings art and people together for enjoyment, discovery and learning. We strive to create a place where people of every background can be touched by art. We are committed to exhibitions and programs that will strengthen and sustain our community.”1 So reads the current mission statement of The Walters Art Museum – a mission that reflects the emphasis on community engagement that was so important to the museum’s creators, William and Henry Walters. This vision remains important to the museum, and is seen in their collection, programming, and their decisions about museum policy. This mission statement also points to their commitments to philanthropy and education. The biography of the Walters men illustrates how it has come to be one of the most esteemed public art museums in the country and how it has maintained that position. They are a strong part of its history. William Thompson Walters was born May 23, 1819 in Liverpool, Pennsylvania. His father, Henry Walters, worked for the Harrisburg National Bank, but late in his life “suffered financial reverses” and died poor and indebted.2 Little is known about the early life of William Walters: it is thought that he studied civil engineering at either the University of Pennsylvania or some other private academy in Harrisburg. 3 By 1841, William was newly set up in Baltimore, Maryland, and well into a career in commerce. It is no coincidence that brought Walters to Baltimore – the city had experienced an economic and real estate boom between 1830 and 1850. During this time, the city’s population nearly doubled.4 Baltimore had become a large port city and both the maritime and rail industries were making it increasingly accessible. These opportunities drew William to the booming city and he soon was partner in the firm Hazlehurst and Walters, importing produce and grocery goods from central Pennsylvania. In 1846 William married Ellen Harper, whose family was also in the mercantile business. The couple had three children: William Thompson Jr. (died
1 The Walters Museum of Art, “Mission,” The Walters Art Museum, http://thewalters.org/about/mission.aspx (accessed March 15, 2014). 2 Johnston, William R., William and Henry Walters, the Reticent Collectors (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 1. 3 Ibid., 3. 4 Ibid.
Hughes 2 early childhood), Henry, and Jennie. By 1857, the young family had taken up residence in the Mount Vernon Place, an area on the north side of Baltimore.5 During this time, William also began investing in the railroad industry, particularly the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company; the railroad would continue to be a prosperous venture for both William and Henry throughout their lives. Until the antebellum period,, Baltimore’s arts and culture scene were unimpressive.6 Beginning in the 1810’s Art galleries in the city at this time included Rebrandt Peale’s (son of Charles Willson Peale) Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Pictures, which opened in 1814 with a twenty-five cent admission fee.7 Through local civic organizations,9 Walters made many acquaintances in the arts world including Robert Gilmor Jr. (possessor of a collection with an estimated four hundred paintings) and Granville Sharpe Oldfield (collection numbering into seven hundred).10 This period of art collecting in Baltimore drew heavily on local artists, but also ventured into the New York market, specifically the Hudson River School. Walters began his collecting with gusto and guile: one of the first art auctions he attended pitted him against Johns Hopkins, Thomas Swann, and S. Owings Hoffman – all wealthy Baltimore men and known art collectors. He also began his lifelong role as patron in 1855, when he sponsored the young artist, William H. Rinehart’s first trip abroad. The 1858 Cosmopolitan Art Journal said about Walters’ patronage “has given many artists commissions, and with an
5 Ibid., 5. 6 Ibid., 9. 7 Hunter, Wilbur H. Jr., “Peale’s Baltimore Museum,” College Art Journal 12, no. 1 (Autumn 1952): 31. 9 One of these local organizations was the Allston Association, a group originally founded by a group of Baltimore artists and socialites. The group would meet to socialize, discuss art and theater, as well as perform musical and theatrical pieces. The group met at the Saint Paul Street home of Frank B. Mayer, until their meetings were halted by the federal government, on that grounds that many of the members of the group were known secessionists and Southern sympathizers. 10 Ibid., 11
Hughes 3 enlightened liberality rarely met with in [sic] America, neither limits them to size, price, nor subject.”12 During his lifetime, Walters was patron to many artists through sponsoring their artistic education, trips abroad, and the commissioning of many works of art. By 1861, The Walters collection was gaining notoriety, and had become known as “one of the finest private collections in the country [embracing] some of the best works of the best modern artists.”13 But in that same year, Walters and his family left Baltimore – Walters had many business ties in the South and supported the southern states and their right to secede. After a number of prominent Baltimoreans were jailed for acts of Southern support, the Walters family moved to Paris late in the summer of 1861. Upon their arrival in France, William made contact with his many art connections in Europe. William and his wife Ellen took numerous trips throughout Europe during their years abroad. They visited many of the famous art collections in France, including the collection of the late Count J.-A. Pourtalès-Corgier. The count had an extremely diverse collection including paintings by the Dutch Masters and works of the Italian Renaissance. He also collected Renaissance bronzes, ivories figures, and many Asian works of art.14 This extensive collection certainly influenced Walters, his ideas on collecting, and what a well-curated collection should look like. Walters cultivated many relationships during this period – relationships that would prove to be extremely useful during the rest of his art career. George Lucas (1824- 1909) became Walters’ good friend and art dealer in Paris.15 Lucas and Walters remained friends and partners for the remainder of their lives.
12 “Domestic Art Gossip,” Cosmopolitan Art Journal 3, no. 2 (March 1859): 88. 13 H.G.S., “Art Matters in Baltimore,” Boston Evening Transcript, March 4, 1861. 14 Johnston, 26. 15 George A. Lucas was a prominent art dealer during the middle 19th century. Born in Baltimore, he eventually moved to Paris and worked as a dealer for Walters and other prominent businessmen, including William Henry Vanderbuilt. He also acted on behalf of his clients in overseeing commissions and as a host and tour guide when his clients visited Paris.
Hughes 4 William Walter’s time abroad was a thorough education in art. His travels took him throughout France, through much of Italy, and into England. Sadly, during a trip to London in 1862, Ellen Walters developed pneumonia and shortly died.16 William remained in Europe for two years following his wife’s death, continuing his traveling and collecting, and returned to the U.S. in 1865, at the conclusion of the Civil War. 17 Upon returning to Baltimore, he continued his collecting and began transforming his Mount Vernon property into a private gallery.18 Many of the rooms on the main floor were outfitted in various period decorations and furniture that Walters had collected while abroad. The post-war time was a fruitful one for The Walters collection. William continued to collect, frequenting auctions in New York City. He also put his collection on display for the first time. On February 26, 1884, Walters opened his home and collection to the public. There was a reception of two hundred men, including many foreign ministers and dignitaries, several Baltimore City officials, and a number of Walters’ art collecting friends.19 The entire rear of the house held the exhibit, which included statues and porcelains, bronzes and watercolors (by Walters’ favorite artist, Antoine-Louis Barye), paintings, historical books and manuscripts, and many Asian artifacts.20 The galleries were all decorated in rich wallpapers, dark wood accents, and lush carpets. Walters wasted little wall- space when displaying his collection: compared to other nineteenth-century galleries, the works were “densely displayed”, with paintings hanging two or three high.21 This early exhibit has many of the traits that can still be seen today at The
16 Ibid., 35 17 Ibid., 40 18 Mount Vernon is a neighborhood in the heart of Baltimore. The present-day Walters Art Museum is located there. 19 Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 27 Feb. 1884. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1884-02-27/ed-1/seq-3/. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid., 90
Hughes 5 Walters Art Museum – a desire to educate the visitor, and the stylistic elements that The Walters is still well-known for today. In an effort to make the collection more accessible to the visitor, Walters created two programs available for perusal during the show. The first one, “Oriental Collection of W.T. Walters, 65 Mount Vernon Place” was lengthy, and detailed the preceding twenty years of the collection’s history, particularly its “Oriental objects of art.”22 The second catalog, “Collection of W.T. Walters,” detailed all 219 pieces on display at the 1884 opening.23 Each entry in the catalogue listed the artist’s name and country, various awards the artist may have won, the title, date, dimensions, and often the provenance of the piece. “Collection” also noted the artist’s teacher or mentor (if they were noteworthy) and occasionally reviews of the individual pieces. The fact that Mr. Walters wrote these books shows that from a very early time in his career, he was interested in education and reaching the public through his collection. He wanted to make his exhibit accessible to the patron – by providing literature about each piece and the collection as a whole, it was not required that the visitor know much about the art world or the history of The Walters collection. Walters also invited the press to the exhibit opening, reaching not just the members of the art world, but also the public at large In the following decade, Walters continued to make art available to the the larger population through publishing, gallery openings, and the commissioning of public art. In 1884, he donated five bronze sculptures by Antoine-Louis Barye to the city to be installed in the park outside of his Mount Vernon home. Seated Lion, and the group War, Peace, Order, and Force were erected that year and still stand today.25 Walters published several volumes on some of his favorite artists, including a one hundred page work titled Antoine-Louis Barye: From the
22 Walters, W.T., Oriental collection of W.T. Walters, 65 Mt. Vernon Place, Baltimore, 1884 (Baltimore: Press of I. Friedenwald, 1884), v. 23 Walters, W.T., Collection of W.T. Walters, 65 Mt. Vernon Place, Baltimore (Baltimore: Press of I. Friedenwald, 1884). 25 Johnston, 100.
Hughes 6 French of Various Critics.26 This work was published in tandem with the second annual winter opening of The Walters Gallery at 65 Mount Vernon Place. The clamor to attend the second of these openings was such that Walters limited attendance to artists and students, including women.27 This is a far cry from the trend of favoring politicians, dignitaries, and art critics. In the years before his death, Walters invited several authors to view and study his collection: Richard Gruelle, Joseph M. Bowles, and Stephen Wooton Bushell.28 In 1892, Gruelle and Bowles were both writing the inaugural issue of Modern Art, a quarterly that would go on to introduce the arts and crafts movement to the U.S. Gruelle wrote a piece featuring The Walters Collection and it was published in the 1894 issue.29 In 1889, Walters took it upon himself to initiate the compiling of an illustrated history of “Oriental porcelain.” He invited Stephen Wooton Bushell, a young physician who had begun research on Chinese writings detailing the production of porcelain, to complete the text using the extensive Walters collection, thus beginning a tradition of research and scholarship at The Walters.30 During the final years of his life, William Walters spent his time divided between Baltimore and New York City. He continued to serve on several boards, including the Peabody Institute and the Gallery of Art Committee. He also served on the development committee that would later form the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 31 Back home, the Woman’s College in Baltimore (now Goucher College) was in its early stages and Walters contributed funds, hoping the art school would attract students from all over the country. Walters also financially supported Johns Hopkins University. Since the first show in 1884, the profits from the yearly spring opening of his gallery had gone to benefit the Poor
26 Walters, W.T., Antoine-Louis Barye: From the French of Various Critics (Baltimore: Press of I. Friedenwald, 1885). 27 Johnston, 102. 28 Johnston, 105-107. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 Johnston, 108.
Hughes 7 Association, a local charity,. This charitable act made The Walters collection very popular and well thought of: The Walters Art galleries at Baltimore are in more ways than one a public blessing. They not only minister to a high artistic taste, but to works of love and charity…for the benefit of the Poor Association of the city, they yielded the handsome relief fund of $3,240.32
This gesture of philanthropy continued throughout both William and his son (and heir to the collection) Henry’s lifetimes. William Walters died November 22, 1894 at the age of seventy-five and with a net worth of $4.5 million. Much of the American art world mourned his death; the Chicago Eagle printed this eulogy: William T. Walters’ death is a severe loss to the progress of art in the United States. Unlike others who play the role of collector without the capacity of the connoisseur, he loved artistic things because of his knowledge of their merits and his appreciation of their beauty. He might have…spent his inherited and acquired wealth on material luxury, instead of making with it a valuable and splendid gallery, which gave his fellow citizens a share in the benefits without cost to any but himself. If his collection is to be dispersed, a portion of it may reasonably be expected to find a permanent home in the museum of the Chicago Art Institute.33
Immediately there was interest throughout Baltimore and the rest of the art world as to the future of The Walters Collection. Rumors circulated about the outcome if the collection were dismantled. Some expected much of it to be left to the MOMA, in part because of Walters Sr.’s association with the new museum. However, his will left the entirety of the collection, worth an estimated $5-$10
32 The Evening critic. (Washington, D.C.), 02 May 1885. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014424/1885-05-02/ed-1/seq-2/. 33 Chicago eagle. (Chicago, Ill.), 08 Dec. 1894. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Hughes 8 million (1894 sum), to his son Henry Walters.34 William and Henry had worked together as collectors for many years, and it seems clear that William regarded his son as an equal partner. William knew that Henry’s ambitions with the collection would follow what his father had started. Henry Walters picked up his father’s efforts from the moment he died. He served on many of the same philanthropic boards that his father had, including the board of trustees at the MOMA, the Poor Association, and the Safe Deposit and Trust Company, a major financial power in Baltimore.35 Art education was a cause that both Henry and his father championed. The fledgling Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanical Arts had been modeled after the well-known Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute. By 1904, the buildings of the Maryland Institute had been destroyed in a fire – twice. After the second conflagration, Henry Walters donated a large sum to ensure it was re-built soundly.36 Henry also continued his father’s work as a patron of young and local artists, contributing to such funds as the Rinehart scholarships, which aided young sculptors in traveling and studying abroad.37 The younger Walters also took on new initiatives, such as paying for construction projects and social welfare programs.38 The philanthropy of the Walters family was continued by Henry into a new era. The Walters collection was already rich in variety, but at the height of his collecting, Henry continued to augment with a wide array of pieces – his interests seemed to have no limit. It was at this time that he purchased the first pieces of
34 The Washington times. (Washington, D.C.), 04 Dec. 1894. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Hughes 9 jewelry for the collection, as well as the first anthropological pieces. This period at the beginning of the twentieth century also marks the busiest time of collecting for either of the Walters. Henry became interested in a collection built by an Italian priest during one of his buying trips abroad. The Massarenti Collection was comprised of some one thousand, seven hundred pieces.40 In April 1902, Henry purchased the collection for five million French Francs, or roughly one million U.S. dollars. The acquisition caused quite a stir in the art world, particularly in New York. The collection arrived in New York packed in two hundred, seventy- five crates. There it was sorted and repacked for the trip to Baltimore.41 The Massarenti Collection remains a significant part of The Walters today. There are few records remaining of Henry Walters’ purchases, but what documents are available shows a veritable collection of European, Asian, and American (both North and South) works of art purchased for the collection.42 It is not a stretch to imagine that both Walters men saw a future for their collection that would appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests. An art museum that serves a diverse community would certainly benefit from a larger variety of mediums and cultures. Perhaps somewhere along the way, William or Henry Walters hoped that their collection would be freely viewed by the public. By September 1900, The Walters collection had outgrown its original Mount Vernon location. The Baltimore Sun reported that Henry Walters purchased three properties at 606 North Charles Street, not far from the first location. A home for the ever-growing collection was needed, especially following the Massarenti acquisition. ,Construction broke ground April 1905 with a budget of $500,000 and a projected finish in fifteen months. In reality, the actual cost was closer to $1 million, and the art was not installed until 2 years after construction began.43 Two years later, on February 3, 1909, the new Walters
40 Ibid., 153. 41 Ibid., 163. 42 Ibid., 137. 43 Ibid., 168.
Hughes 10 Gallery opened to a crowd of one hundred people waiting for admission, among which was Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt. This new iteration of The Walters continued to be community-focused. Like every spring opening since 1884, the proceeds from the grand opening benefited the Poor Association. Walters also hired local artists to work as docents in the gallery – a wonderful way to include members of the community in the endeavor. The Massarenti collection was a large draw for the crowd, partly due to its price tag, and news of the opening traveled across the country, appearing in many U.S. newspapers:
With the opening of the splendid Walters art gallery to the public today, Baltimore has the opportunity of claiming for its own one of the finest collections of art objects in the world. The new white marble building at the corner of Charles and Center streets contains not only the famous Massarenti collection of old masters and ceramics, purchased in 1902 for nearly $1,000,000, but also the works of art previously owned by Mr. Walters and those since added to his collections. Henry Walters, the art collector, whose generosity has given Baltimoreans the new gallery, is one of the city’s best known capitalists and philanthropists.44
Clearly the reputation of his generosity and the value of his collection were known beyond just Baltimore. Before the 1909 opening, Henry Walters had spent fourteen months arranging the objects to his liking. Assisting Walters in this task was his new chief curator, Faris C. Pitt, a Baltimore dealer in Chinese porcelains, European paintings and silver.45 In letters dated after the 1908, Walters writes to Pitt that he continued to try and arrange the works in a chronological order.46 William Johnston, Walters Gallery historian, writes that photographs of the early exhibit belay no sort of visible order, indeed “in their density and heterogeneity, the
44 The Bemidji daily pioneer. (Bemidji, Minn.), 04 Feb. 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063381/1909-02-04/ed-1/seq-2/. 45 Johnston, 177. 46 Ibid., 179.
Hughes 11 displays recalled those of a generation earlier” – in a word, unorganized.47 From the surviving photographs of the gallery, it is easy to draw similarities between Walters’ style of curation and that of a typical Renaissance cabinet of curiosity: many items displayed densely, a wide variety of objects spanning many categories, and the emphasis on wonder or the exotic. The period between The Walters Gallery Opening and Henry’s death was spent voraciously collecting. It is during this time that it is possible to fully develop a sense of the collecting philosophy of Henry Walters, and divine differences between his purchases and those of his father. Henry’s taste for art and objects seems almost insatiable – not only in amount, but also in variety of objects. He collected paintings, watercolors, sketches, statues of bronze, Chinese porcelain, Navajo jewelry, manuscripts and books of various time periods and cultures, Pre- Colombian and other anthropological artifacts, as well as furniture, rugs, and tapestries. On several occasions, friends and art dealers advised him to par down the collection. A family friend of the Walters, Mary Berenson, wrote in a letter to her good friend Isabella Stewart Gardner: “He has some splendid things…but hopelessly lost and buried in masses of indifferent stuff and actual rubbish. It is very mysterious.”48 Walters also seems to have preferred works by the students of more prominent artists. This thriftiness meant that the collection could grow faster, but Berenson often encouraged Walters to purchase more popular works to draw attention to the collection. These secondary works also often came with problems of condition, or poorer quality craftsmanship. Furthermore, Henry Walters’ “more is better” attitude may have led him to purchase works of questionable origin. Over time, more than a few fakes and forgeries have been discovered among
47 Ibid. 48 Berenson, Mary, “Letter from Mary Berenson to Isabella Stewart Gardner,” in The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner, ed. Rollin Van N. Hadley (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1987), 514.
Hughes 12 The Walters Collection. At the time of his death, Henry had grown the collection to almost $14 million, from the $5-$10 million which he inherited from his father.49 There were more differences in the collecting style of father and son. William certainly seemed to celebrate variety within the collection. However, he is known for occasionally culling the collection at least one time in 1862. He also appears to have selected many of his purchases himself, instead of relying heavily on art dealers, as Henry did. William appears to have treasured each piece he selected, whereas Henry is quoted as not liking everything he purchased. The volume of Henry’s purchasing lead to many pieces going unnoticed as they were packed away in storage. Henry Walters died November 30, 1931 in New York City. His will left the museum building, its other properties and the entire collection to Baltimore’s mayor and city council, “for the benefit of the public.”50 In addition, Henry left a portion of his own wealth to serve as the initial endowment of the gallery (AMOUNT?). Once the City of Baltimore acquired the gallery, a committee was established to fulfill Walters’ wishes of the museum serving for the promotion of the “welfare, education, and happiness of the people of Baltimore.”51 The immediate challenges facing the committee were staffing, the building’s limitations, and the over twenty-thousand objects in the collection, both catalogued and uncatalogued.52 A number of the pieces among the collection
49 Ibid., 221. 50 Henry Walters’ will was dated April 11, 1922, in New York City and was read December 7, 1931 in Baltimore. The inventory of the estate was initially valued at $11,962,140 and was the largest estate filed in Maryland to that date. 51 Johnston, 222. 52 One anecdote from this time period: in 1934 The Walters committee decided to auction their copy of Francis Scott Key’s manuscript for The Star-Spangled Banner. Henry’s widow, Sadie Walters, disagreed with the decision, reasoning that it had been her husband’s wish to keep the manuscript and have a special display built for it. In a strange chain of events, The Walters eventually bought the piece at its own auction, for a sum of $26,400. At this time Sadie Walters let her ties with the collection and its board lapse and she remained in New York City for
Hughes 13 required conservation efforts and a lab was built in the gallery, the third of its kind in the country.53 A director, chief curator, and conservator were among the first staff members hired – an indication of the board of trustees’ dedication to the collection. The gallery had been closed since Henry’s death, but it opened for one last season in spring 1933 before closing in the summer of 1934 for renovation of the building and collections. The purpose of this last show was to allow the Baltimore public one final chance to see it as Henry Walters had designed. Among the projects undertaken by the gallery staff was the installation of a cooling system, and a full overhaul of the collection and its displays. The clutter and packed display cases were thinned out and reorganized into a more chronological exhibit which still exists today. On October 29, 1934, members of the press were invited to view the collection. Five days later, on November 3, 1934, the doors were opened and the public was welcomed in.54 The middle period of The Walters Art Gallery was a quiet one. Since it was opened, the gallery strove to be a leader in the publishing of literature on art and art history. In living up to this, The Walters Art Gallery has published catalogues of their collections since the 1930’s. The collection also continued to expand during this time period, albeit slowly. Upon the death of Henry Walters’ widow in 1941, many of the works that she had retained for her own personal collection were put up for auction, and The Walters Art Gallery acquired eleven pieces, including a famous vase that Henry had purchased in 1925.55 The acquisitions policy of The Walters Gallery during this time period was to “enhance those aspects of the collection that were inadequately represented rather than to
the remainder of her life. Later, in 1953, the manuscript was sold to the Maryland Historical Society for an undisclosed amount. 53 Ibid., 225. 54 Ibid., 228. 55 The vase is known as The Rubens vase after the Flemish artist Peter-Paul Rubens. It is a controversial piece of art, as it is believed to have been taken during the plunder of Constantinople by the French in 1204.
Hughes 14 emphasize existing strengths.”56 Clearly the institution was making efforts to continue the original Walters’ collection plan of an expansively and comprehensive survey of art. As the collection continued to grow, so did the need for a physical expansion. The gallery had not been expanded beyond its original North Charles Street property and so, beginning in the late 1950’s, The Walters Board of Trustees began seeking funding for an expansion project. Finally, after securing funds from the City of Baltimore, the state of Maryland as well as private funding, the museum gallery was able to break ground on a new building in 1966. The expansion opened in 1974 and contains several smaller, more intimate galleries, which house some of the smaller objects among the collection.57 Another addition to the museum’s list of properties came in 1984 in the form of a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Willard Hackerman. Known today as the Hackerman House, the property sits adjacent to the original Walters Gallery on Mount Vernon Place (which the museum also continues to own). Currently, the Hackerman House houses works of Asian art. In 1994 The Walters Gallery appointed a new director from among their ranks – Gary Vikan had been at The Walters since 1984 and had been serving as Director of Curatorial Affairs.58 Dr. Vikan brought many, many changes to The Walters, while still maintaining the mission begun by William and Henry. His first task was yet another building renovation and expansion. Issues with the climate control and fire detection systems required a renovation to the 1974 addition. Also added were a museum store, a family art center, and an expanded lobby, all of which still exist today.59 Beyond the physical upgrade, Vikan and the directors decided it was time for a complete overhaul of the gallery, its mission, and
56 The Walters Art Museum, “From Art Gallery to Art Museum,” The Walters Art Gallery, http://thewalters.org/about/history/gallery.aspx (accessed March 18, 2014). 57 Ibid. 58 Dorsey, John, “Walters selects one of its own,” Baltimore Sun, April 13, 1994. 59 Remesch, Karin, “Behind the scenes: The Walters Art Gallery,” Baltimore Sun, April 19, 1998.
Hughes 15 policies. Since 1934, the gallery’s mission read: “the gallery, bequeathed to the city of Baltimore by Henry Walters, is steward of a distinguished permanent collection of Western and Asian art ranging from antiquity through the early 20th century. Permanent collections are frequently complemented by exhibitions of art from around the world.“60 This mission speaks to the care for and display of collections, a mission strongly needed following the death of Henry Walters. The first director and the curator in 1934 were faced with a massive and chaotic collection, and to them the foremost mission was to reign in the chaos. The Walters Gallery had developed a reputation of goodwill and charity through the works of its creators, and at the time of its writing, the original mission statement reflects no desire to actively continue to pursue that. However, with a new director, and an expanded and revitalized gallery space, The Walters clearly saw a need for an updated mission as well. Museums were looking outward, out into the public, and beyond its collections. The new (and persisting) mission statement, quoted at this paper’s opening, reflects that change in perspective. The new mission statement makes a vague mention of its collections, and speaks mostly about bringing people together and strengthening of community. This is also reflected in its new children’s and community programming rooms that were added in the 1998 renovation. This new mission draws more on William and Henry Walters’ desire to educate and bring art to the people of Baltimore and beyond, whereas the 1934 mission sought to continue their emphasis on collections. Their many monetary donations, writings on art, and open gallery shows illustrate their intent to be a part of the Baltimore community, and it is clear that The Walters’ current mission seeks to harken back to that first goal of the founders. To go along with its new mission, The Walters decided to change its name from The Walters Art Gallery, to The Walters Art Museum. In the 1930’s, ‘gallery’ was the correct term for a building that displayed art for viewing. However in today’s language, a gallery traditionally is a place to
60 Ibid.
Hughes 16 purchase pieces of art. The Walters concluded “the word ‘museum’ better expresses the mission for which The Walters was founded.”61 Since 1934, The Walters had been free to all patrons. Between aid from the city government, its endowment, and private gifts, the collection was able to waive all admissions fees. However, in 1982, the museum was forced to begin charging admission at the rate of $2.00.62 In 2003, Dr. Vikan approached the Board of Trustees about abolishing the admissions fee. He had been communicating with other museums both in the U.S. and the U.K. about their experiences with a zero admissions policy: “this was an act of mission and values, not an act of money.”63 Vikan felt that The Walters was doing a disservice to its founding and now current mission to charge a fee to view the collection. Neither William nor Henry Walters limited admission to those who could pay, and that was the position Vikan felt The Walters need to reinstate. Concerns about increased loitering and the sustainability of funding stalled the motion. At that time the money brought in through the admissions equaled about 2% of the museum’s annual budget.64 However, after securing a grant from the federal government as well as several private donations to make up the deficit, the motion was passed. Vikan approached the Baltimore Museum of Art and invited them to join The Walters in offering free admission – an effort to build a relationship between the city’s two largest art institutions. On October 1, 2006, both The Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art opened – amid much fanfare and patrons were invited to view the collections – free of charge. When considering the rates that many other museums throughout the U.S. charge for their general admission, the fact that The Walters can provide a similar service for free is astounding and wonderful. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has raised their admissions fees twice since 2006 – an adult general
61 The Walters Art Museum, “Gallery to Museum”. 62 Staff writer, “Priceless art,” Baltimore Sun, May 31, 2006. 63 Brennen Jensen, “Free for All – Philanthropy.com,” Chronicle of Philanthropy 19, no. 22 (September 6, 2007): 14. 64 Ibid.
Hughes 17 admissions ticket now costs $25.00.65 The Philadelphia Museum of Art is similar – it is now $20.00 for an adult ticket.66 About the continual rise in museum admissions prices, Dr. Vikan said “every museum faces different circumstances. But raising admission prices to what the market will bear is the wrong approach. Instead, you should push them down to what the institution can bear.”67 During the first month of free admission, The Walters welcomed 21,513 visitors, up from 8,764 in 2004.68 To further their mission of community involvement, The Walters has undertaken many community outreach events in the last decade. In 2012, the museum sponsored an event called Art Bytes, a “hackathon” aimed at building computer applications inspired by art or that address challenges faced by art museums.69 One of the organizers of the event acknowledged that this event forced the museum to display their vulnerability: “that willingness to be open and say we might not be relevant, we’re not attracting people to the resources we have and they’re missing out.”70 Additional community events include many free cultural and family festivals. Monthly programs for children include ARTKids and ARTBabies where museum staff led talks and activities for parents and children related to current exhibits. In 2011, in an effort to make their collection available to an audience beyond Baltimore and its visitors, The Walters has made a large majority of their collection available online. The online database is an amazing resource, and is
65 MoMA, “Hours & Admission,” Museum of Modern Art, http://www.moma.org/visit/plan/index#hours (accessed March 18, 2014). 66 Philadelphia Museum of Art, “Hours & Admission,” Philadelphia Museum of Art, http://www.philamuseum.org/visit/ (accessed March 18, 2014). 67 Jensen, 14. 68 Kathryn McKay, “Free-for-All,” Art & Antiques 30, no. 1 (January 2007): 29. 69 Zaleski, Andrew, “Art Bytes brings technologists, others to Walters Art Museum for art-inspired hackathon,” Technicall.ly Baltimore, http://technical.ly/baltimore/2012/07/27/art-bytes-brings-technologists-others-to- walters-art-museum-for-art-inspired-hackathon/ (accessed 18 Mary, 2014). 70 Ibid.
Hughes 18 funded through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.71 The site is extremely searchable, and can be browsed by category, creator, date, medium, location within the museum, and user generated tags. The Walters has a wonderful copyright policy: their images are available to anyone, free of charge, permitting there is accurate citation.72 In 2012, The Walters went one step further and gave more than 19,000 images of works from the collection to Wikipedia, again free of charge.73 These efforts further support The Walters’ goal to conform to their mission of accessibility. Had Henry or William Walters had the capability of making images of their collection available to the public for entertainment and education, surely they would have done so. In 2013, Gary Vikan, who had led The Walters as director for eighteen years, announced that he would be stepping down from his position. He was heralded by many for having seen the museum through tough economic times, times that had toppled many other art museums.74 In his place, the museum hired Julia Marciari-Alexander, formerly of the San Diego Museum of Art.75 Marciari-Alexander appears to have settled in nicely at The Walters and continues the traditions of the museum and its founders. In her 2014 Director’s Letter, she announces the goal to “highlight the nature of the museum and its history as a collection of collections.”76 In appearances at least, she seems to be beginning a track of honoring the legacy of the museum and its founders.
71 The Digital Walters, “Sponsorship,” The Walters Art Museum, http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/03_ReadMe.html (accessed May 5, 2014). 72 The Digital Walters, “Citation,” The Walters Art Museum, http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/03_ReadMe.html (accessed May 5, 2014). 73 McCauley, Mary Carole, “Walters donates artwork images to Wikipedia,” The Baltimore Sun, May 8, 2012. 74 Smith, Tim, “Walters Art Museum director Gary Vikan to step down,” The Baltimore Sun, March 7, 2012. 75 McCauley, Mary Carole, “Walters Art Museum names new director,” The Baltimore Sun, February 20, 2013. 76 “Director’s Letter,” The Walters, accessed May 5, 2014, http://thewalters.org/about/director.aspx.
Hughes 19 The Walters’ connection with the City of Baltimore has been both a blessing and a curse. The grants and tax breaks that the museum is given allow it to be such a fixture in the city’s community. However, if a time ever came where the relationship between the museum and the city soured, The Walters would be in a difficult situation and would likely be forced to begin charging admissions again. Fortunately, Baltimore seems to understand the position it is in as the benefactor and sponsor of such an important institution and the movement that it stands for. Federal arts and humanities bodies also appear to understand the importance of The Walters and similar institutions – The Walters has been the benefactor of several national grants from the NEH and other similar organizations. The lasting legacy of The Walters Art Museum is very clear. The Walters proves that art museums do not have to be unapproachable and exclusive. Art museums can be for all people and not just those with a passion for art or a background in art history. Art museums can serve as community centers, as meeting rooms, as classrooms, and as a center for community service. Art museums do not have to be an expensive outing that families have to save up for months to visit, and that an outing to the art museum is a special occasion. Museums like The Walters can be a place to visit for just a couple of hours on the weekend, without any pressure to take in the entire museum and get 25 dollars worth of an experience. With free admission, anyone can visit for any period of time and return any number of times. This philosophy is something that was begun by The Walters, reinvigorated by Dr. Gary Vikan, and continued by Julia Marciari-Alexander. The Walters, along with other free-admissions museums, are hopefully the beginning of a new trend in increased accessibility for museums. The Walters and others are in prime positions to influence the museum community and show how it can be possible to exist without charging admissions. William and Henry Walters had a vision to create a vast art collection that could be viewed and experiences by all who had an interest. The ferocity with
Hughes 20 which they collected and the eagerness with which they made their collection available to the public dictated the future of The Walters. They created a legacy of public art that has been perpetuated by the museum’s directors and curators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Hughes 21 Bibliography
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Hughes 25