This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Kreeger Museum building, which was designed by the world famous architect Philip Johnson. He began constructing in 1964 and completed three years later in 1967.
The Kreegers were fanatics of the DC art and cultural community, and their love of art, music, and architecture is extremely evident throughout this museum today.
They began their formidable collection of modern art in 1959 and assembled most of the museums holdings for 15 years.
The Kreegers chose to purchase the pieces held in this museum after coming to an agreement together and they did it more for the love they had for the piece verses for the investment.
The Permanent Collection includes paintings, sculptures, outdoor sculptures, prints, works on paper, illustrated books, as well as African, Asian, Roman and Pre-Columbian artwork.
The Kreeger collection consists of works from the 1850s to the present. Impressionists include paintings from Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissarro.
The Sculpture Terrace features pieces done by Jean Arp, Aristide Maillol, Jacques Lipchits, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi and Francesco Somaini.
Six vast works by John L. Dreyfuss grace the Reflecting Pool Terrace through April of 2020. The Sculpture Garden features work by Carol Brown
Goldberg, Rainer Lagemann, Dalya Luttwak, George Rickey, Lucien Wercollier and Washington, DC artists like Kendall Buster, Ledelle Moe, Wendy Ross, and Foon.
The collections in the museum may seem broad-based; however, any insightful viewer will realize the unifying elements throughout the museum are color and texture.
Not only is this museum special for the works, but there is also a connection with music. The building itself has symphonic inflection that intensifies the collection without being overpowering.
The connection with music in the collection comes from the fact that the Kreegers were both amateur musicians.
The Kreegers intertwined music, paintings, sculptures and architecture into the tapestry of their lives and they put this museum together to try and recreate that experience for their visitors. The current exhibition in the works at Kreeger Museum is known as RE-VISION.
In honor of it being the anniversary, the Museum has asked two Washington architects, Michael E. Hickok and Yolanda Cole, to conceive a special exhibit celebrating this fantastic occasion.
When asked what visitors should expect from RE-VISION it was said that, “Our vision for this anniversary exhibition goes beyond the expected historic sketches, photographs of construction and archival correspondence between Mr. Johnson and his client. Instead we have asked artists to create entirely new artistic material based on the inspired design of the building”
“We want the public to see the Museum in new and fresh ways; through the eyes of some of the region’s most prominent art photographers..”
Each artist creates images that will engage the public and challenge them to look at Philip Johnson’s work from the artist’s unique point of view.
In that way, the building itself transforms from being the subject of the exhibition to becoming the inspiration.
The Kreeger Museum is definitely the place to go if you have the opportunity considering it holds so many different works and styles of art.
If interested, you can get a tour reservation Tuesday-Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., or Saturday at 10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m..