Delgado Museum of Art
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| Established | 1911 |
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| Location | One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 70124 |
| Coordinates | 29°59′11″N 90°05′36″W / 29.9864°N 90.0934°W |
| Director | Susan Taylor |
| Website | http://www.noma.org/ |
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line. It was established in 1911 as the Delgado Museum of Art.
The New Orleans Museum of Art was initially funded through a charitable grant by local philanthropist and art collector Isaac Delgado. The museum building itself was partly designed by the former chief engineer of New Orleans Benjamin Morgan Harrod.
At the age of 71 Isaac Delgado, a wealthy sugar broker, wrote to the City Park Board about his intention to build an art museum in New Orleans. “I have been lead to believe that you would willingly donate in the park the site for a building I propose erecting to be known as the ‘Isaac Delgado Museum of Art’. My desire is to give to the citizens of New Orleans a fire proof building where works of art may be collected through gifts or loans and where exhibits can be held from time to time by the Art Association of New Orleans”. The board approved his request and designated the circle, at the end of what would become Lelong Avenue, for the museum. On December 11, 1911, the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art opened its doors. Issac Delgado did not attend the opening due to medical issues; he died soon after on January 4, 1912. This legacy lives on in City Park today and into the future.
In 1970/1971, The Edward Wisner Foundation funded the Wisner Education Wing, which is a three level addition to NOMA’s left side. 1993 brought the opening of the $23 million expansion and renovation project to NOMA. The scale of the expansion and renovation, combined with amplified art acquisitions, positioned NOMA into the top 25 percent of the nation’s largest and most important fine art museums. Today, the art museum is rated among the best art institutions in the country, having presented many unique and rare exhibits.
The museum includes the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 5-acre (20,000 m2) landscaped area behind the main building. The gated garden features fifty modern sculptures set among live oaks, pines, magnolias, camellias, lagoons, several bridges, and a walking trail.
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