The McMaster Museum of Art is currently located in the Alvin Lee Building at the corner of Sterling St. and University Ave. It is open to the public, and has a ‘pay what you can, if you can’ suggested fee of $2. (At less than a Starbucks coffee, I think it’s quite the deal!). Throughout the year the Museum features some pretty awesome collections, including some made possible through generous donors, like Dr. Herman Levy, a 1985 honorary graduate of McMaster. Not only did Dr. Levy leave his own personal collection to the Museum (including pieces by Monet and van Gogh), but also bequeathed a generous sum to help the Museum source new pieces of art when he passed in 1990. To read more about Levy and his impact on the museum, click here.
The Museum hasn't been located at that corner since its inception though. In fact, the Museum began as the McMaster Art Gallery, and was located in the East wing of Togo Salmon Hall. Fun fact: Togo Salmon, the Chair of History at the time, was the main proponent of getting the Art Gallery up and running in the 1960s. He and other faculty members worked together to create this Art Gallery to feature the pieces we had on campus. It was then in the 1990's that the Art Gallery moved to its current location. Later, the building became named the Alvin Lee Building, after President Emeritus Alvin Lee, who advocated greatly for a separate building to house the Museum.
In the current building, the Museum has six vaults to hold all of its collections. Our friends over in the Communications and Public Affairs Office recently put together a great video showing the inner workings of the vaults. Watch the whole thing and find out how human hair helps them keep the art work in pristine condition.
So what can you see at the Museum now? You can check out their current and upcoming exhibitions on their website. And be sure to check out all the cool statue art surrounding the Museum building, including the Great Lakes Trellis and the Coyote’s Standoff. If you can't make it into the Museum in person, not to worry, Museum staff are very active on social media. They have a Vault View of the Week to showcase the pieces they don't have on view currently. Check them out on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
And that completes our Doors Open v.2.0. We hope you found some great spots to check out on campus and learned some fun new facts about McMaster. We will be back soon with another series!
