Record-breaking Crowds for Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus at Detroit Institute of Arts

DETROIT, MI.- The popular exhibition Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, at the Detroit Institute of Arts through Feb. 12, broke attendance records for recent exhibitions at the museum, with more than 15,000 visitors during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. The number is around three times the typical weekly attendance for the exhibition. “The response has been overwhelming,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “Much of the positive feedback we have received focuses on how the exhibition is presented, which [...]

Detroit Institute of Arts presents gift of a lifetime: The James Pearson Duffy Collection

DETROIT, MI.- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) recently received a generous bequest and rich art collection from James Pearson Duffy, one of Detroit’s most unorthodox collectors. Gift of a Lifetime: The James Pearson Duffy Collection, on view Sept. 14, 2011–March 18, 2012, showcases this varied collection of drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs. The exhibition is organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts and is free with museum admission. For 40 years, Duffy was one of the great characters of the Detroit [...]

Detroit Institute of Arts Opens New Gallery Devoted to Ancient Middle Eastern Art

DETROIT, MI.- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will open a new gallery devoted to the arts of the Ancient Middle East on Dec. 22 that will showcase the ancient cultural heritage of what we today call Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Yemen and Armenia. A favorite with the public, the serpent/dragon panel from the Ishtar gate of Babylon, will be back on display. “Many visitors have asked what happened to our dragon,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “We are [...]

Detroit Institute of Arts to Receive Much-Needed Funds to Repair Roof

DETROIT, MI.- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) was recently awarded $750,000 from the federal government, earmarked for much-needed repairs to the roof of the museum’s historic 1927 building and its North and South Wings. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, was responsible for securing these funds on behalf of the museum. Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow supported the museum’s request [...]

Detroit Institute of Arts Opens New Permanent Islamic Gallery

DETROIT, MI.- In the heart of the largest concentration of Muslims in the U.S., the Detroit Institute of Arts this weekend is opening a new permanent gallery of Islamic art showcasing exhibits including a rare 15th-century Quran of a Mongol conqueror. “The Arab and Islamic community is significant enough that it needs to see itself in the museum,” said director Graham W.J. Beal. “Their collection had not been shown very prominently in the previous recent decades.” Sunday’s opening comes as [...]

New Gallery of Islamic Art to Open at Detroit Institute of Arts in February

DETROIT, MI.- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will open its long-awaited new gallery of Islamic art on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. The new gallery includes works of art from the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Central Asia and India, and spans the 7th–early 20th-centuries. The gallery was initially to be part of the museum’s renovation and reinstallation project that was completed in 2007, but was delayed until funding could be secured. The Islamic collection will be on view in [...]

Broad Museum at Michigan State University to Break Ground in March

EAST LANSING, MI.- Michigan State University will break ground on the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum on March 16, 2010. Eli Broad, who donated the naming gift for the project, and Zaha Hadid, the internationally known architect who designed the building, are expected to attend. The groundbreaking will be followed by 23 months of construction and a 2012 museum opening. The university also announced the creation of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum Advisory Board that will advise [...]