Brooklyn Museum. Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, Contemporary Art.

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Department of Painting and Sculpture was reorganized into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically. In the early 1940s the department was re-consolidated under one curator: John I.H. Baur. Then in 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art and European Art. A Contemporary Art division covered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments. Three years earlier photography was transferred to the Prints and Drawings Department.

Selected curators of the Department of Painting and Sculpture: William Henry Goodyear (1890-1923); Paul J. Woodward (1924); Herbert B. Tschudy (1925-1946); Frederick A. Sweet (1934-1936); Marvin Chauncey Ross (1934); John I.H. Baur (1934-1952); John Jay Gordon (1951-1959); Axel von Saldern (1961-1969); Donelson F. Hoopes (1965-1969); Sarah C. Faunce (1969-1998); Linda S. Ferber (1969- ); Barbara Millstein (1972- ); Charlotta Kotik (1983- ); Barbara Dayer Gallati (1984- ); Teresa A. Carbone (1985- ); Elizabeth Easton (1988- ); Brooke Kamin Rapaport (1989-2002).

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Department of Painting and Sculpture was reorganized into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically. In the early 1940s the department was re-consolidated under one curator: John I.H. Baur. Then in 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art and European Art. A Contemporary Art division covered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments. Three years earlier photography was transferred to the Prints and Drawings Department.

Selected curators: William Henry Goodyear (1890-1923); Paul J. Woodward (1924); Herbert B. Tschudy (1925-1946); Frederick A. Sweet (1934-1936); Marvin Chauncey Ross (1934); John I.H. Baur (1934-1952); John Jay Gordon (1951-1959); Axel von Saldern (1961-1969); Donelson F. Hoopes (1965-1969); Sarah C. Faunce (1969-1998); Linda S. Ferber (1969-); Barbara Millstein (1972- ); Charlotta Kotik (1983-); Barbara Dayer Gallati (1984-); Teresa A. Carbone (1985-); Elizabeth Easton (1988-); Brooke Kamin Rapaport (1989-2002).

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Department of Painting and Sculpture was reorganized into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically. In the early 1940s the department was re-consolidated under one curator: John I.H. Baur. Then in 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art and European Art. The Contemporary Art divisioncovered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments. Three years earlier photography was transferred to the Prints and Drawings Department.

Selected curators: William Henry Goodyear (1890-1923); Paul J. Woodward (1924); Herbert B. Tschudy (1925-1946); Frederick A. Sweet (1934-1936); Marvin Chauncey Ross (1934); John I.H. Baur (1934-1952); John Jay Gordon (1951-1959); Axel von Saldern (1961-1969); Donelson F. Hoopes (1965-1969); Sarah C. Faunce (1969-1998); Linda S. Ferber (1969- ); Barbara Millstein (1972- ); Charlotta Kotik (1983- ); Barbara Dayer Gallati (1984- ); Teresa A. Carbone (1985- ); Elizabeth Easton (1988-); Brooke Kamin Rapaport (1989-2002).

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Department of Painting and Sculpture was reorganized into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically. In the early 1940s the department was re-consolidated under one curator: John I.H. Baur. In 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art and European Art. A Contemporary Art division covered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments. Three years earlier photography was transferred to the Prints and Drawings Department.

Selected curators: William Henry Goodyear (1890-1923); Paul J. Woodward (1924); Herbert B. Tschudy (1925-1946); Frederick A. Sweet (1934-1936); Marvin Chauncey Ross (1934); John I.H. Baur (1934-1952); John Jay Gordon (1951-1959); Axel von Saldern (1961-1969); Donelson F. Hoopes (1965-1969); Sarah C. Faunce (1969-1998); Linda S. Ferber (1969- ); Barbara Millstein (1972- ); Charlotta Kotik (1983- ); Barbara Dayer Gallati (1984- ); Teresa A. Carbone (1985- ); Elizabeth Easton (1988- ); Brooke Kamin Rapaport (1989-2002).

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture. After Goodyear's death in 1923, Paul J. Woodward became temporary head of the department, followed in 1925 by Herbert B. Tschudy, who was the first department head with the title, 'Curator of Painting and Sculpture.' Under Tschudy, the department became active in exhibiting surveys of contemporary art movements.

William H. Fox, who became the Museum's director in 1913, took on many curatorial responsibilities and implemented changes such as rearranging and bringing some order to the overcrowded gallery spaces. After Fox retired as director in 1933, his successor, Philip Newell Youtz reorganized the department into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically.

During the late 1930s, the curators continued to rearrange gallery spaces. In December 1935, the Medieval Hall officially opened and the Museum's collection of medieval objects became accessible to the public for the first time. In 1936, John I.H. Baur succeeded Frederick Sweet as curator of the Renaissance Art division and also assumed the curatorship of Contemporary Art when Tschudy retired. By 1941, European applied arts had been transferred to a new Department of Decorative Arts, and collection, research and special exhibitions of paintings and sculpture were reunited under one curator: Baur. Baur strengthened the American art collection, and organized a series of well-received exhibitions of works by nineteenth and early twentieth-century artists.

In 1952, John Gordon became curator of the department. He continued to acquire many important works of twentieth-century art and mounted exhibitions that symbolized the dual interests of the department: publicizing major works by important artists and exhibiting works by local and lesser-known artists.

Axel von Saldern, appointed in 1961, also emphasized American art and continued to improve the galleries and the education experience for the visitors. Von Saldern and Donelson F. Hoopes, who succeded him in 1966, continued an active exhibition program throughout the 1960s. For the first time private collections of American art were displayed in the Museum, accompanied by scholarly catalogs. In June 1965 the Frieda Schiff Warburg Memorial Sculpture Garden was officially opened. The collection contains architectural ornamentation salvaged from demolished New York structures.

In the early 1970s the department organized a large reinstallation project in the fifth floor galleries in order to show the Museum's rich collection of American paintings with an updated educational approach. The installation was arranged chronologically, with works grouped by topic and style. In 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art under Linda Ferber and European Art under Sarah Faunce. The Contemporary Art division, under Charlotta Kotik, covered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments.

Among the important exhibition series in the 1980s and 1990s were the Grand Lobby installations, Working in Brooklyn and Curator's Choice, as well as major thematic and retrospective shows.

The origins of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, and Contemporary Art can be traced to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum building in 1897. William Henry Goodyear, who had been titular curator of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences since 1890, became curator in 1899 of the Brooklyn Museum's new Department of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the Department of Painting and Sculpture.

In the early 1930s, the Department of Painting and Sculpture was reorganized into three components, based on important historical periods in Western art: Medieval Art, under Marvin C. Ross; Renaissance Art, with Frederick A. Sweet as curator; and Contemporary Art, under Herbert Tschudy. The galleries and museum floors were also arranged chronologically. In the early 1940s the department was re-consolidated under one curator: John I.H. Baur. Then in 1984 the department underwent another important restructuring dividing it geographically: American Art and European Art. A Contemporary Art Division covered both geographic areas from 1945 to the present. In 2000 these divisions became three separate curatorial departments. Three years earlier photography was transferred to the Prints and Drawings Department.

Selected curators: William Henry Goodyear (1890-1923); Paul J. Woodward (1924); Herbert B. Tschudy (1925-1946); Frederick A. Sweet (1934-1936); Marvin Chauncey Ross (1934); John I.H. Baur (1934-1952); John Jay Gordon (1951-1959); Axel von Saldern (1961-1969); Donelson F. Hoopes (1965-1969); Sarah C. Faunce (1969-1998); Linda S. Ferber (1969-); Barbara Millstein (1972- ); Charlotta Kotik (1983-); Barbara Dayer Gallati (1984-); Teresa A. Carbone (1985-); Elizabeth Easton (1988-); Brooke Kamin Rapaport (1989-2002).