The Detroit Institute of Arts is the home to one of the U.S.’s most impressive collections of art. The vast collection is housed in over 650,000 square feet of space in midtown Detroit. The original building at the site was designed in the early 1920’s by Paul Phillipe Crete. The building’s grand staircase and symmetrically arched front façade are visible from Woodward Avenue.
The original main entrance is marked by a trio of monumentally scaled hemispherical arches in all-white marble. The exterior is articulated with a combination of smooth and chamfered stone along with ionic columns and the restrained use marble friezes and dentil work. The stone inscription above the entrance reads. “Dedicated by the people of Detroit to the knowledge and enjoyment of art”. The original Beaux Arts plan was symmetrical about the main entrance axis, with galleries on each side of the Entrance Hall, Main Hall and Garden Court (now known as the Diego Rivera court), culminating at a 1000-seat auditorium.
The idea of “building as art” is on full display in the Diego Rivera court, and the world-renown space houses one of the Mexican artist’s most impressive works. This is not simply a gallery which house’s the famous artwork – the works were commissioned for this space specifically. In 1931, just a few short years after first opening, DIA commissioned Diego Rivera to paint murals for the north and south walls of the Garden Court, soon thereafter the commission was doubled to just over $20,000 for murals to be painted on all four walls. With financial support from Edsel Ford, the then-president of the Ford Motor Company, Rivera set out to create imagery that would celebrate American industry. The murals were created in 1932-33 after Rivera had completed thousands of study-sketches. Ultimately, 27 panels were created depicting industry and technology, and their intrinsic connection to the culture of Detroit.
Not being one to shy away from controversy, Rivera incorporated both positive and negative themes including war, environmentalism, science, and race-relations, among others. At the time, a local newspaper ran a front-page editorial calling the work of art “psychologically erroneous, coarse in conception, and to many women observers, foolishly vulgar.” Edsel Ford, chairman of the Detroit Arts Commission at the time, stated, “I am thoroughly convinced that the day will come when Detroit will be proud to have this work in its midst. In the years to come, they will be ranked among the truly great art treasures of America.” Ford’s words proved to be prophetic, and Rivera’s “Detroit Industry Murals” became a National Historic Landmark in 2014.
As the museum’s collection and popularity grew, so did the building. In the 1960’s and 70’s wings were added to the north and south by architect Gunnar Birkerts. The additions are now much different in appearance than the original, very dark, marble clad structures. Another major renovation was undertaken in the early 2000’s, led by architect Michael Graves. As part of that project, the Birkerts additions were re-clad in white marble, sourced from the same quarry as the original Beaux Arts building. Despite the careful sourcing of the stone, the marble’s appearance contrasts sharply against the original stone, allowing the original structure to remain visually independent from the newer, contemporary work.
During the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy in 2014, the then-municipally owned DIA faced a crisis. In the “Great Bargain” as the agreement was coined, $816 million was raised by donors to save the priceless artwork from being sold by the city’s creditors and the DIA was allowed to become an independent institution. Now owned by a charitable trust – the priceless art is forever protected from such a sale.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is open to the public, with free admission for residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. Visit the DIA website to plan your visit: https://dia.org/