This weeks Art Moments will be a little different because we are celebrating the museums 81st anniversary on December 11. We begin with the original Nelson-Atkins building, a neoclassic structure designed by Kansas City architects Wight and Wight. Groundbreaking took place on July 16, 1930 and construction took only two years to complete. Situated on the site of Oak Hall, the Nelsons family home, the museum was made of warm buff limestone with a rosy cast, quarried in William Rockhill Nelson’s home state of Indiana. An additional year was required for completion of the interior. Bronze and marble finishes were of the highest quality, and the greatest care was taken in their installation. A great central hall over 40 feet tall with ceiling skylights formed the heart of the interior and was flanked on either side by two-story gallery wings. The east wing bore the name of the Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and the remainder of the building was officially titled the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 01:30:01 +0000
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