Allen Memorial Art Museum

Sometimes abbreviated as AMAM, or called Allen (not to be confused with the Allen Medical Center).

A highly reputable art museum, the AMAM has been described as "world-class" and "one of the top five college or university art museums in the country." Its collection ranges from ancient to contemporary art and represents diverse cultures from around the world.

The museum mounts exhibitions and sponsors lectures, gallery talks, and musical performances that are open to the public. Oberlin students can also take advantage of the art rental program each semester.

Certainly Oberlin's studio art and art history courses use the museum, but many other courses include visits there as well.

The museum recently won an almost $150K grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to make the collection more accessible.

1 Archiectural History
- 1.1 Clarence Ward Addition
- 1.2 Venturi & Scott Brown Addition
2 Links

[edit] Archiectural History

Cass Gilbert built the original AMAM, at a price of nearly $200,000 — double its originally planned budget. The building was completed in 1918, and opened the day before commencement, where Gilbert received an honorary degree.

[edit] Clarence Ward Addition

Clarence Ward, a professor of art history and director of the AMAM from its inception through 1949, designed an addition to the AMAM, built in 1937. Today, this addition houses offices, classrooms, and workspaces.

[edit] Venturi & Scott Brown Addition

In the 1970s, the College commissioned husband & wife team Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown to design another addition to the AMAM. The building was designed in an obtrusive fashion so that the AMAM would be surrounded on both sides by structures far less sophisticated — on the south, the Venturi addition, and on the north, the gas station on site at the time, where the Underground Railroad monument now sits.

This addition houses offices, classrooms, workspaces, and the Clarence Ward Art Library.