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FLEET LIBRARY | Research Guides

Rhode Island School of Design

RISD Museum of Art Exhibitions: Introduction

Collection description

Rhode Island School of Design opened in 1878 renting one room on the top floor of the Hoppin Homestead Building at 283 Westminster Street, Providence, RI. The school's facilities expanded within the building until 1893 when RISD moved to a new building at 11 Waterman Street. The first floor provide three rooms for a museum of art. The Waterman Galleries opened in 1897, the first building dedicated solely to the exhibition of works of art and casts. The Pendleton House and the connecting Japanese Gallery provided permanent exhibition galleries in 1906. The construction of the Eliza G. Radeke Museum Building in 1926 transformed the Museum's exhibition space. The Daphne Farago Wing opened in 1994. The 2008 dedication of the Chace Center and the renovation of the Radeke Building provided further expansion of the galleries.

The Archives' exhibition database lists all known exhibitions held since 1878 in three groups: Hoppin Homestead Building, 1878-1893; the Waterman Galleries, 1893-1925, and the Radeke Building and all other Museum of Art exhibition galleries, 1926 to the present.

The guide lists the exhibition title, dates, and indicates the existence of catalogues and images. Catalogues include typed lists of works, leaflets, pamphlets, and published works.

Sources

Austin, Nancy. "Towards a Genealogy of Visual Culture at the Rhode Island School of Design, 1875-1900." Ph.D diss., Brown University, 2009.

Barrett, Dawn and Andrew Martinez, eds. 'Infinite Radius' Founding Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, RI: Rhode Island School of Design, 2008.

Bronson, Elsie S. "The Rhode Island School of Design: A Half-Century Record 1878-1928." In 'Infinite Radius' Founding Rhode Island School of Design, edited by Dawn Barrett and Andrew Martinez, 45-85. Providence, RI: Rhode Island School of Design, 2008.

Woodward, Carla Mathes. "Acquisition, Preservation, and Education: A History of the Museum." In A Handbook of the Museum of Art: Rhode Island School of Design, edited by Carla Mathes Woodward and Franklin W. Robinson, 11-60. Providence, RI: Rhode Island School of Design, 1985.