Meadows Museum to join in Art Museum Day on May 17 with free admission

DALLAS (SMU) — The Meadows Museum at SMU will offer free admission on Sunday, May 17, as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ (AAMD) Art Museum Day, coinciding with International Museum Day on Monday, May 18, 2015. 

Last year, the Meadows Museum — along with 180 other AAMD member museums across North America — participated in Art Museum Day.

Art Museum Day underscores the critical role art museums play as cultural resources in their communities and celebrates the unique opportunities AAMD member museums offer visitors to engage with works of art. 

Class Reunion by John Alexander

This year, the Meadows Museum is presenting three simultaneous special exhibitions:

• Human/nature. The Ridiculous and Sublime: Recent Works by John Alexander (through June 28) — Recent works by John Alexander, an SMU graduate whose early inspiration was fostered by the Goya masterpieces within the Museum’s collection.
       
• The Abelló Collection: A Modern Taste for European Masters (through August 2) — Masterpieces by Bacon, Braque, Dalí, El Greco, Goya, Picasso, Ribera, and many more, from the world-­renowned private art collection of Spanish billionaires Juan Abelló and Anna Gamazo.
       
• The Meadows Collects: 50 Years of Spanish Art in Texas (through August 2) — Highlights of the Museum’s past 50 years as a center for Spanish art.

The Meadows Museum also invites visitors to share their experiences on Art Museum Day via social media with the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay.

“The 50th anniversary represents a landmark moment in time for the Meadows Museum, and we’re delighted to share this special anniversary with a series of remarkable exhibitions,” said Mark A. Roglán, the Linda P. and William A. Custard Director of the Meadows Museum and Centennial Chair in the Meadows School of the Arts, SMU. “As members of AAMD, it is our pleasure to share these riches and celebrate our anniversary with the community.”

“Art museums are invaluable communal spaces that bring people together to experience the arts across cultures and generations,” said Chris Anagnos, executive director of AAMD. “AAMD is so pleased that the Meadows Museum is joining us in this celebration by welcoming everyone in the Metroplex to participate in Art Museum Day.”

About the Association of Art Museum Directors

AAMD represents 242 art museums across the United States, Canada, and Mexico — from regional museums to large museums in major urban centers. International Museum Day is organized annually around the world by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

AAMD’s Art Museum Day is an opportunity to focus attention on the role of art museums in North America.

A comprehensive list of participating AAMD member art museums is available on the AAMD website.

About the Meadows Museum

The Meadows Museum is the leading U.S. institution focused on the study and presentation of the art of Spain. 

In 1962, Dallas businessman and philanthropist Algur H. Meadows donated his private collection of Spanish paintings, as well as funds to start a museum, to Southern Methodist University. The Museum opened to the public in 1965, marking the first step in fulfilling Meadows’s vision to create a “Prado on the Prairie.” 

Today, the Meadows is home to one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. The collection spans from the 10th to the 21st centuries and includes medieval objects, Renaissance and Baroque sculptures, and major paintings by Golden Age and modern masters. Since 2010 the Museum has been engaged in a multidimensional partnership with the Prado, which has included the exchange of scholarship, exhibitions, works of art, and other resources. 

The Meadows Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015 with a series of special exhibitions and programs. Visit www.meadowsmuseumdallas.org for more information.

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