Johnson Museum of Art celebrates silver anniversary Johnson Museum of Art celebrates its silver anniversary Saturday By Darryl Geddes Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will have its silver anniversary celebrated Saturday, May 2, from 1 to 5 p.m. with a festival of activities, including dance and musical performances, gallery tours and hands-on workshops. At 3 p.m. Franklin Robinson, the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the museum, will cut a giant cake made in the shape of the I.M. Pei-designed building. Among the features at the museum's 25th birthday celebration will be demonstrations of Japanese calligraphy, portrait drawing, print-making, Chinese brush painting and soapstone carving, and appearances by Mrs. McPuppet and the Cornell bear.
All activities take place at the museum.
We have maintained that this museum not simply be a repository for great art, but a central part of the teaching mission of Cornell and for the community beyond the campus. Dozens of Cornell classes are held in the museum each year, and more than 6,000 students from outlying school districts attend the museum's numerous workshops, supported in part by the New York State Council for the Arts. Since opening its doors 25 years ago, the museum has welcomed more than 2 million visitors and added more than 20,000 works. Recent notable acquisitions include Monhegan Landscape by Edward Hopper and Study of a Model, the only painting by Thomas Eakins that is part of the museum's permanent collection. Enabling the museum to strengthen its holdings and outreach efforts has been a supportive alumni base, Robinson noted.