L ast October the Indianapolis Museum of Art—an improbably grand institution for a midsize midwestern metropolis—was either gloriously reborn or notoriously trashed.
“[M]useums are cultural treasures, not amusement parks,” Capps argued, pinning the blame squarely on the director: “Venable has turned a grand encyclopedic museum into a cheap Midwestern boardwalk.”
Organized in 1883 as the Art Association of Indianapolis, the museum has been in its current location nearly 50 years thanks to the heirs to the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical fortune. Lilly’s great-grandchildren, Josiah K. Lilly III and Ruth Lilly, gave their parents’ home and estate, known as Oldfields, to the IMA in 1966. (This is the same Ruth Lilly who in 2002 let the Poetry Foundation know that she was bequeathing it a transformational gift of stock, ultimately worth about $200 million.) The Lilly home, a national historic landmark with a sumptuously restored and furnished main floor and gardens designed by Olmsted Brothers associate Percival Gallagher, became part of the IMA campus.
Venable wants to see that number grow, but for the weekend visitor (or day-tripper), Newfields’ relatively sparse attendance is a bonus. In comparison to the crush at Chicago museums, it offers blessed breathing room—inside and out. During my midweek visit, I had many galleries (most equipped with comfortable sofas and chairs that invite you to linger) nearly to myself. That included even the central atrium, dominated by Robert Indiana’s familiar LOVE sculpture, and my two favorite galleries: one devoted to urban scenes, the other to American realism (including Edward Hopper’s unforgettably stark Hotel Lobby). There’s a nicely appointed cafe (open for lunch whenever the museum is open and for dinner on Thursdays through Saturdays), a theater, a gift shop, and areas dedicated to activities for kids.
Fri-Wed 11 AM-5 PM, Thu 11 AM-9 PM, 4000 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN, 317-923-1331, discovernewfields.org, $18, $10 youth six to 17, free ages five and under.
