Taft Museum of Art

"Taft Museum" redirects here. For the William Howard Taft birthplace, see William Howard Taft National Historic Site.
Baum-Taft House

Taft Museum of Art
Location Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates 39°6′9″N 84°30′12″W / 39.10250°N 84.50333°W / 39.10250; -84.50333Coordinates: 39°6′9″N 84°30′12″W / 39.10250°N 84.50333°W / 39.10250; -84.50333
Built 1820
Architect Unknown
Architectural style Federal
NRHP Reference # 73001470[1]
Added to NRHP January 29, 1973

The Taft Museum of Art is a historic house museum holding a fine art collection in Cincinnati. It is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and is a contributing property to the Lytle Park Historic District.[2]

Portrait of Mr. Taft, by Joaquin Sorolla (1909)

The Taft house was first built for Martin Baum and then was the residence of Nicholas Longworth. David Sinton lived in the house with his daughter Anna, who married Charles Phelps Taft, the half-brother of President William Howard Taft. The Tafts lived in the house from 1873 until 1929. William H. Taft accepted his presidential nomination there from its portico in 1908.[3] The Tafts were avid art collectors. They turned their home into a museum, and donated their Greek Revival house and the collection of art that filled it to the people of Cincinnati in 1927. In the Tafts' deed of gift they stated, "We desire to devote our collection of pictures, porcelains, and other works of art to the people of Cincinnati in such a manner that they may be readily available for all." The Taft Museum opened to the public on November 29, 1932.[4]

The museum's collections include European old master paintings, with works by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Thomas Gainsborough, Frans Hals, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, and Adriaen van Ostade, among others, and 19th-century American paintings, including the well known murals by Robert Duncanson. The galleries in the historic house also include Chinese porcelains, European decorative arts, Limoges enamels, watches, sculptures, and furniture.

Collection highlights include:

The museum reopened in May 2004 after an extensive renovation.[6] The expansion includes a museum shop, the Carl H. Lindner Family Café, and a lecture and performance space, Luther Hall.

See also

References

  1. National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. "National Register Historic Districts – City Planning & Buildings". Cincinnati-oh.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  3. "Taft Museum of Art Cincinnati Review | Fodor's". Fodors.com. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  4. Federal Writers' Project (1943). Cincinnati, a Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors. p. 166. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  5. work previously attributed to Carlo da Camerino
  6. Felix Winternitz & Sacha DeVroomen Bellman (2007). Insiders' Guide to Cincinnati. Globe Pequot. p. 13. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
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