The University of Oregon’s art museum opened its doors to the public on June 10, 1933. Designed by Ellis F. Lawrence, the UO dean of the School of Architecture & Allied Arts (1914-1946), the museum was built to house the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art. The collection consisted of more than 3,000 objects given to the University by Gertrude Bass Warner in 1921 as a memorial to her late husband.
With its elegant exterior brickwork, decorative moldings and iron grillwork, the original museum building is one of the most distinctive architectural structures in Oregon. The museum is listed on the National Register for Historic Places.
In October 2002 the art museum broke ground for an expansion and renovation project. With its new name-– Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art-–in recognition of its major donor, the museum reopened in 2005.
Source: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art website: http://jsma.uoregon.edu/about/history.aspx
From the guide to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art records, 1903-2007, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)
