Jump to content

Wichita Art Museum

Coordinates: 37°41′42.0″N 97°21′23.0″W / 37.695000°N 97.356389°W / 37.695000; -97.356389
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wichita Art Museum
Main entrance in 2023
Map
Interactive fullscreen map
Established1915; 110 years ago (1915)
Location1400 W Museum Blvd
Wichita, Kansas
 United States
Coordinates37°41′42.0″N 97°21′23.0″W / 37.695000°N 97.356389°W / 37.695000; -97.356389
TypeArt museum
Collection size12,000 works
Visitors80,000 (2023)[1]
FounderLouise Caldwell Murdock
DirectorMolly McFerson
Websitewam.org

The Wichita Art Museum (also known as WAM) is an art museum located in Wichita, Kansas. Exclusively focused on American art, its collection comprises over 12,000 items, a selection of which is displayed across 31,500 sq. ft. (2,900 m²) of galleries.[1]

The museum was established in 1915, when Louise Caldwell Murdock’s will created a trust to start the Roland P. Murdock Collection of art in memory of her husband. The first museum building, designed by New York architect Clarence Stein, opened in 1935 with art borrowed from other institutions, as the first work in the Murdock Collection was only purchased in 1939. Elizabeth Stubblefield Navas, a friend of Louise Murdock's, selected and purchased works for the collection until 1962.[2] A foundation was established two years later for the purpose of raising funds for new acquisitions.

The museum building was enlarged with a new lobby and two new wings designed by Robert J. Schaefer in 1963, before the city commissioned architect Edward Larrabee Barnes to design a new and larger climate controlled facility, completed in 1977.[3] In 2003, the museum inaugurated another expansion, which expanded the total area of the museum to 115,000 sq. ft. (10,700 m²).[4]

Tera Hedrick, an art historian and Wichita East High School graduate, was hired as curator in 2017 after serving in an interim role.[5] In January 2020, the museum announced that it would begin renovation on its main entrance and lobby, which was completed that year.[6][7]

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Wichita Art Museum Announces Search for New Director/CEO". Wichita Art Museum. Wichita, KS. June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  2. ^ "People of Carnegie". Wichita Carnegie Library. Wichita, KS. 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  3. ^ Searing, Helen (1982). New American Art Museums. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art. p. 130. ISBN 978-0520048966. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  4. ^ "Museum History". Wichita Art Museum. Wichita, KS. 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Riedl, Matt (January 10, 2018). "East High grad returns to Wichita to accept major job at art museum". The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, KS. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Kellerman, Shelby (January 17, 2020). "Wichita Art Museum begins $700K update of its lobby, entrance and other gathering spaces". Wichita Business Journal. Wichita, KS. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  7. ^ "Museum Commemorates Temporary Closure with Free Admission Wednesday". Wichita Art Museum. Wichita, KS. March 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wichita_Art_Museum&oldid=1301236783"