The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Art museum in Kansas City, United States
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, whose original 1933 Beaux-Arts building by Wight and Wight is modelled on the Cleveland Museum of Art, with 23 limestone panels by Charles Keck on its exterior. The Bloch Building, designed by Steven Holl, adds overlapping rectangular volumes with pale, vertically seamed glass facades on a grassy slope, fronted by a tall dark brown sculpture of intersecting beams.
The institution opened in December 1933 thanks to a bequest from William Rockhill Nelson's 1915 will, which dedicated his estate proceeds to acquiring artworks. Later expansions added contemporary architecture and outdoor areas to accommodate growing collections.
The museum's name joins two benefactors: Mary McAfee Atkins, a former schoolteacher who left $300,000 in 1911, and William Rockhill Nelson of the Kansas City Star. Until 1983 the east wing was the Atkins Museum of Fine Arts and the west wing the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art. Oak leaf motifs on the door grillwork recall Nelson's estate, Oak Hall.
The museum is open five days a week: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; it is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday hours run from 10 am to 9 pm, while other open days close at 5 pm. Admission is free. The Bloch Building, a 2007 addition, sits on a grassy slope and is entered from the original 1933 building.
The Bloch Building, opened in 2007, was ranked first on Time magazine's list of the 10 best new and upcoming architectural marvels. It consists of overlapping rectangular volumes with pale, vertically seamed glass facades set on a grassy slope, and a dark brown sculpture of intersecting beams stands in front of its lower right section.
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