The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is an art museum located in midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is one of the largest and most important art museums in the country. The museum has over 100 galleries and covers 658,000 square feet (61,100 m²). A major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 added 58,000 square feet (5,400 m²) to the building. The DIA’s collection is considered one of the top six museums in the United States. It includes art from many different cultures and time periods, such as ancient Egyptian and European works, as well as modern art. The collection is valued at up to $8.1 billion USD, according to a 2014 appraisal. The DIA is located in Detroit’s Cultural Center Historic District, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of downtown Detroit, across from the Detroit Public Library and near Wayne State University.

The museum building is highly respected by architects. The original structure, designed by Paul Philippe Cret, has north and south wings made primarily of white marble. The campus is part of the Cultural Center Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum’s first painting was donated in 1883, and its collection includes over 65,000 works of art. In 2015, the DIA had about 677,500 visitors each year, making it one of the most visited art museums in the world. The museum hosts major art exhibitions and includes a 1,150-seat theatre designed by architect C. Howard Crane, a 380-seat hall for performances and lectures, an art reference library, and a conservation services laboratory.

In 2023 and 2024, readers of USA Today voted the Detroit Institute of Arts the No. 1 art museum in the United States.

Collections

The museum has 100 galleries that display art from around the world. Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry frescoes cover the upper and lower levels of the museum, surrounding the central grand marble court. The armor collection of William Randolph Hearst is displayed along the main hall entryway to the grand court. The American art collection at the DIA is one of the most impressive in the world. Officials at the DIA rank the American paintings collection as third among museums in the United States. The museum began collecting works by American artists immediately after it was founded in 1883. Today, the collection shows a strong overview of American history, including masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The collection also includes contemporary American art in all media. The collection includes works by American artists such as John James Audubon, George Bellows, George Caleb Bingham, Alexander Calder, Mary Cassatt, Dale Chihuly, Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Cole, John Singleton Copley, Robert Colescott, Leon Dabo, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Winslow Homer, George Inness, Martin Lewis, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Tom Phardel, Duncan Phyfe, Hiram Powers, Sharon Que, Frederic Remington, Paul Revere, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, John French Sloan, Tony Smith, Marylyn Dintenfass, Merton Simpson, Gilbert Stuart, Yves Tanguy, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Andy Warhol, William T. Williams, Anne Wilson, Andrew Wyeth, and James McNeill Whistler.

The early 20th century was a time when the museum added many important works to its collection. These included a dragon tile relief from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, an Egyptian relief of Mourning Women, and a statuette of a Seated Scribe. The museum also acquired works such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Wedding Dance, Jan van Eyck’s Saint Jerome in His Study, and Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child. Early purchases included French paintings by Claude Monet, Odilon Redon, Eugène Boudin, and Edgar Degas, as well as works by Old Masters such as Gerard ter Borch, Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Dürer, and Rembrandt van Rijn. The museum includes works by Vincent van Gogh, including a self-portrait. The self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh and The Window by Henri Matisse were purchased in 1922 and were the first paintings by these artists to enter an American public collection. Later important acquisitions include Hans Holbein the Younger’s Portrait of a Woman, James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, and works by Paul Cézanne, Eugène Delacroix, Auguste Rodin, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, and François Rude. The DIA collected German Expressionist works early on, including pieces by Heinrich Campendonk, Franz Marc, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Beckmann, Karl Hofer, Emil Nolde, Lovis Corinth, Ernst Barlach, Georg Kolbe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Max Pechstein. Non-German artists in the Expressionist movement include Oskar Kokoschka, Wassily Kandinsky, Chaïm Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Giorgio de Chirico, and Edvard Munch. The Nut Gatherers by William-Adolphe Bouguereau is a well-known painting in the collection.

In addition to American and European works, the collections at the Detroit Institute of Arts are very broad and include ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian art, as well as a wide range of Islamic, African, and Asian art in all media.

In December 2010, the museum opened a new permanent gallery that displays hand, shadow, and string puppets with special lighting and original backgrounds. The museum plans to host puppet-related events and rotate exhibits from its puppet collection.

List of exhibitions

Artists' Take on Detroit: Projects for the Tricentennial (October 19, 2001 – December 28, 2001) This exhibit honors Detroit's 300th birthday by showing 10 projects that represent the city. The installations made by 15 artists include video and still photos, text and sound, and sculptures. The exhibit includes: Altar Mary by Petah Coyne, Strange Früt: Rock Apocrypha by Destroy All Monsters Collective, Traces of Then and Now by Lorella Di Cintio and Jonsara Ruth, Fast Forward, Play Back by Ronit Eisenbach and Peter Sparling, Riches of Detroit: Faces of Detroit by Deborah Grotfeldt and Tricia Ward, Open House by Tyree Guyton, A Persistence of Memory by Michael Hall, Relics by Scott Hocking and Clinton Snider, Blackout by Mike Kelley, and Voyageurs by Joseph Wesner.

Art in Focus: Celadons (January 16 – April 14) Green-glazed ceramics, also called celadon ware, made by Suzuki Sansei are shown in each Asian gallery.

Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (February 24, 2002 – May 19, 2002) This exhibit shows work by African American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000). It includes pieces from the Migration and John Brown series that have never been seen before.

Degas and the Dance (October 20, 2002 – January 12, 2003) This exhibit shows more than 100 works by Edgar Degas. These include model stage sets, costume designs, and photos of dancers from 19th-century Parisian ballet.

Magnificenza! The Medici, Michelangelo and The Art of Late Renaissance Florence (March 16, 2003 – June 8, 2003) This exhibit displays art from the cultural achievements of the first four Medici grand dukes of Tuscany between 1537–1631. It also shows their connection to Michelangelo and his art in Late Renaissance Florence.

When Tradition Changed: Modernist Masterpieces at the DIA (June 2003 – August 2003) This exhibit only includes works from the DIA's collection made between the late 19th century and early 20th century. It shows how artists expressed themselves differently after the year 1900.

Then and Now: A selection of 19th- and 20th-Century Art by African American Artists (July 2003 – August 2003) This exhibit has about 40 objects that show the styles of African American artists over the past 200 years. It includes work by Joshua Johnson, Robert Scott Duncanson, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Augusta Savage, Benny Andrews, Betye Saar, Richard Hunt, Sam Gilliam, and Lorna Simpson. It also includes work by Detroit artists like Allie McGhee, Naomi Dickerson, Lester Johnson, Shirley Woodson, and Charles McGee.

Art in Focus: Buddhist Sculpture (Through July 14, 2003) This exhibit has one Buddhist sculpture in each Asian gallery. These sculptures represent enlightenment, selflessness, wisdom, and peace.

Yoko Ono's Freight Train (September 17, 2003 – July 19, 2005) Freight Train, made by Yoko Ono in 1999, is a German boxcar with bullet holes. It is placed on a section of railroad track outside.

Art in Focus: Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid Lacquer (Through October 13, 2003) This exhibit shows lacquer wares made from the sap of lacquer trees.

Style of the Century: Selected Works from the DIA's Collection (Through October 27, 2003)

Some Fluxus: From the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Foundation (Through October 28, 2008) This exhibit shows works from the Fluxus group, which was named by artist George Maciunas.

Dance of the Forest Spirits: A Set of Native American Masks at the DIA (Through October 6, 2003) This exhibit displays wooden masks made in the 1940s by the Kwakwaka’wakw people of the Northwest coast. The masks show the spirit world. Interactive videos, listening stations, and computer activities are also included.

Dawoud Bey: Detroit Portraits (April 4, 2004 – August 1, 2004) This exhibit shows large-format, color photos of people taken during Dawoud Bey’s five-week stay at Chadsey High School. It also includes a video of students from Chadsey High School. Artwork from writing and art workshops led by Bey and the school’s art teachers is also displayed.

Pursuits and Pleasures: Baroque Paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts (April 10, 2004 – July 4, 2004) This exhibit shows paintings by Aelbert Cuyp, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Jacob van Ruisdael, Mathieu le Nain, Claude Lorrain, Gerard Ter Borch, Frans Snyders, and Thomas Gainsborough. It is organized by the Kresge Art Museum, the Dennos Museum Center, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Muskegon Museum of Art, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The Etching Revival in Europe: Late Nineteenth- and Early- Twentieth Century French and British Prints (May 26, 2004 – September 19, 2004) This exhibit shows etchings by James McNeill Whistler, Francis Seymour Haden, Charles Meryon, Édouard Manet, Jean-François Millet, and Frank Brangwyn.

The Photography of Charles Sheeler: American Modernist (September 8, 2004 – December 5, 2004) This exhibit shows prints from Charles Sheeler’s major series. These include photos of his house and barns in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, from 1916 and 1917; stills from the 1920 film Manhatta; photos of Chartres Cathedral from 1929; and images of American industry from the 1930s for Fortune magazine. It also shows Sheeler’s photos of the Ford Motor Company.

Murals by Diego Rivera (Through December 5, 2004) This exhibit shows murals painted by Diego Rivera. These murals are part of the Detroit Institute of

Architecture

Before 1920, a group was formed to select an architect for a new building to house the DIA's growing collection of art. The group included DIA President Ralph H. Booth, William J. Gray, architect Albert Kahn, and industrialist Edsel Ford. W.R. Valentiner, the museum director, served as the art director, and Clyde H. Burroughs was the secretary. The group chose Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret as the lead architect and the firm of Zantzinger, Borie and Medary as associated architects. Detroit firms Albert Kahn and C. Howard Crane provided advice and suggestions.

The cornerstone for a new building in the Beaux-Arts and Italian Renaissance styles was laid on June 26, 1923. The completed museum was dedicated on October 7, 1927.

In 1922, Horace Rackham donated a copy of Auguste Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker, from a German collection to the museum. It was displayed in the Great Hall of the new building while it was being constructed. Later, the sculpture was moved outside the building and placed on a pedestal facing Woodward Avenue and the Detroit Public Library, which was also built in the Beaux-Arts and Italian Renaissance style.

The south and north wings were added in 1966 and 1971, respectively. Both were designed by Gunnar Birkerts and originally covered in black granite to highlight the original white marble building. The south wing was later named after museum supporters Edsel and Eleanor Ford, and the north wing was named after Jerome Cavanaugh, who was Detroit's mayor during the expansion.

The building also includes a 16th-century French Gothic chapel donated by Ralph H. Booth.

William Edward Kapp, an architect from the firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, was responsible for the interior design of the Detroit Institute of Art.

In 1932, Edsel Ford commissioned artist Diego Rivera to create murals for the DIA. The five large fresco-style murals, known as Detroit Industry or Man and Machine, were placed in a large central courtyard. The courtyard was covered with a roof during the mural's creation. These murals are widely admired as important works of art and a unique feature of the museum. Architect Henry Sheply, a friend of Paul Cret, criticized the murals, saying they had strong colors and were too large and not well balanced with the building's design. The murals' themes of workers' struggles caused disagreements among people. During the McCarthy era, a sign was placed near the murals to confirm they were legitimate art, even though the artist's political views were described as "detestable." Today, the murals are celebrated as one of the DIA's most important attractions and considered one of America's most significant monuments.

The building also features intricate ironwork by Samuel Yellin, tiles from Pewabic Pottery, and architectural sculptures by Leon Hermant.

In November 2007, the Detroit Institute of Arts completed a renovation and expansion costing $158 million. Architects involved included Michael Graves, a Driehaus Prize winner, and the firm SmithGroup. The project, called the Master Plan Project, included expanding and renovating the north and south wings, restoring the original Paul Cret building, and adding 58,000 square feet, bringing the total to 658,000 square feet. The north and south wings were refinished with white marble from the same quarry as the original building. The renovation of the Detroit Institute of Arts has become an important example for museum planning, function, and design.

History

The Museum began in 1881 when James E. Scripps, a newspaper owner from Detroit, traveled to Europe. He kept a journal about his family’s five-month trip to Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, which included descriptions of art and culture. Parts of this journal were published in The Detroit News, a newspaper he owned. The series was so popular that it was later published as a book titled Five Months Abroad. This success inspired William H. Brearley, who managed the newspaper’s advertising department, to organize an art exhibit in 1883. The exhibit was also very well received.

Brearley then asked many important Detroit citizens to help create a permanent museum. It was first called the Detroit Museum of Art. Some of the people who donated money or artwork included James E. Scripps, his brother George H. Scripps, Dexter M. Ferry, Christian H. Buhl, Gen. Russell A. Alger, Moses W. Field, James McMillan, Hugh McMillan, George H. Hammond, James F. Joy, Francis Palms, Christopher R. Mabley, Simon J. Murphy, John S. Newberry, Cyrenius A. Newcomb, Sr., Thomas W. Palmer, Philo Parsons, George B. Remick, Allan Shelden, William C. Weber, David Whitney Jr., George V. N. Lothrop, and Hiram Walker.

After the success of their first exhibit, Brearley asked 40 of Detroit’s most influential businessmen to each donate $1,000 to build a permanent museum. James E. Scripps alone gave $50,000, helping the group reach their goal. By 1888, the Detroit Museum of Arts was officially formed, and it had over 70 pieces of artwork that Scripps had collected during his trip to Europe.

The museum existed for less than 40 years, but it had a major impact on Detroit. The success of the 1883 Art Loan Exhibition led to the creation of a board to raise money for a permanent art museum. Many important Detroit citizens, including James E. Scripps, George H. Scripps, Russell A. Alger, and Sen. Thomas Palmer, donated money to this cause. The original Detroit Museum of Art building opened in 1888 at 704 E. Jefferson Avenue. It was demolished in 1960. In 1919, the museum’s name was changed to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), and a new building was planned. The current DIA building on Woodward Avenue opened on October 7, 1927. While not officially called the founder of the DIA, Scripps and Brearley were the founders of the museum’s earlier version, the Detroit Museum of Art.

In 1919, the museum became a city department, receiving operating funds from the City of Detroit. A group called the Founder’s Society was formed to raise money for the museum’s needs. The museum also hired Wilhelm Valentiner, a German art expert, as its director. Under his leadership, the DIA’s collection grew significantly. The museum acquired its first van Gogh and Matisse in 1922 and collected many works of early Modernist art.

Valentiner changed how art was displayed in the museum. Instead of grouping paintings and sculptures separately, he organized them by country and time period. This new method was so innovative that the 1929 Encyclopædia Britannica used a picture of the DIA’s main floor plan as an example of a modern museum.

The museum received support from Detroit philanthropists and wealthy individuals, including Charles Lang Freer, the Dodges, the Firestones, the Fords, and Robert Hudson Tannahill. Tannahill donated many artworks during his lifetime and left a large European art collection, including works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, Georges Seurat, Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuși, and important German Expressionist art. He also left a collection of African art and an endowment for future acquisitions. The museum also receives funding from the state government in exchange for providing art programs and conservation services to other museums in Michigan.

In 1949, the museum returned a painting, The Seine at Asnières by Claude Monet, that had been stolen by the Nazis. The dealer who sold the painting to the museum reimbursed the museum. In 2002, the museum discovered that a painting, A Man-O-War and Other Ships off the Dutch Coast by Ludolf Backhuysen, had also been stolen by the Nazis. The museum returned the painting to its rightful owners and added it to its collection. In another case, the museum won a legal battle over a painting by Vincent van Gogh, Les Becheurs (The Diggers), because Michigan’s legal time limit prevented the court from deciding the case.

The museum expanded with new wings in 1966 and 1971. In 1970, the museum received a large collection of 18th-century French art from the home of Anna Thompson Dodge.

In the 1970s and 1980s, as Detroit’s economy declined, the city had less money to support the DIA. In 1975, the museum was closed for three weeks due to budget cuts. The state of Michigan helped reopen the museum and began providing more funding.

In 1976, Eleanor Ford donated $1 million to create the Department of African, Oceanic, and New World Cultures.

By 1990, 70% of the DIA’s funding came from the state of Michigan. When the state faced a budget crisis, it cut funding by more than half, forcing the museum to close some galleries and reduce hours. A fundraising campaign led by Joseph L. Hudson helped restore operations.

In 1998, the Founder’s Society signed an agreement with the City of Detroit to manage the museum independently while the city retained ownership.

In 2006, a 12-year-old boy left a piece of chewing gum on Helen Frankenthaler’s painting The Bay, damaging it. The museum’s conservation team cleaned and restored the painting, which was returned to display in late 2006.

As part of Detroit’s bankruptcy settlement, the city’s ownership of the museum was transferred.

Governance

Salvador Salort-Pons, who is from Madrid, was previously the head of the European Art Department at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Before joining the DIA, he worked as a senior curator at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and was an assistant professor of art history at the Complutense University of Madrid. Salort-Pons has a doctorate in art history from the University of Bologna in Italy and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In September 2015, he became the director of the DIA after Graham Beal retired in June of that year.

Some people have criticized Salort-Pons for not following the "visitor-centered" philosophy that Graham Beal used to guide the museum. This philosophy aimed to make art and its meanings more accessible to the public so visitors could learn and connect with the artwork. Critics believe Salort-Pons, because he is from Spain, may not fully understand challenges related to race, inclusivity, and representation in the United States. The New York Times reported that Salort-Pons was working to improve diversity, even though he admitted he had limited knowledge of the Black experience in America. In an interview, Salort-Pons said the DIA would try to hire more people from underrepresented groups and start community programs to support diversity. However, Lucy Mensah, a person of color hired by Salort-Pons as an assistant curator, resigned in 2017. She said she and another assistant curator felt they were hired as "token hires" to improve diversity but were not respected or valued by the museum.

In 2020, some Black community leaders and Detroit art professionals defended Salort-Pons. Cledie Collins Taylor, a respected figure in the Detroit art community, said Salort-Pons had made "unprecedented" efforts to connect with the Black community. She added that Salort-Pons was eager to learn about the community despite coming from another country.

The DIA hosts major events, such as art exhibitions in its 1,150-seat theater and fundraising galas like Les Carnavel des ArtStars in November. Other events include the "Fash Bash," a fashion show held in August to celebrate Detroit Fashion Week. A 2012 survey found that 79% of the museum's visitors lived in Wayne, Macomb, or Oakland counties. The museum had 429,000 visitors in 2011 and 594,000 in 2013. By 2014, attendance reached about 630,000.

The DIA is one of the largest art museums in the United States and depends on private donations for much of its funding. The city of Detroit owns the museum and its collection but stopped providing financial support. The museum's endowment, a fund that helps pay for expenses, was $200 million in 1999 and $230 million in 2001. A major renovation and expansion completed in 2007 helped increase the endowment to $350 million by 2008. However, the 2008 recession, fewer donations, and unexpected costs caused the endowment to drop to $89.3 million by 2012.

In 2012, the museum's endowment provided about $3.4 million in investment income, while ticket sales, restaurant revenue, and gift shop sales added about $3.5 million, or 15% of the museum's annual budget. Between 2008 and 2012, the museum raised $60 million, reduced staff, and cut its operating budget from $34 million to $25.4 million. In 2012, voters in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties approved a 10-year property tax increase, expected to raise $23 million annually. This helped save the museum from budget cuts. Free admission for residents of these counties was offered for the 10-year period. The museum set a goal to reach $400 million in its endowment by 2022 to become self-sustaining.

The DIA's art collection is valued at up to $8.5 billion, according to a 2014 estimate. After Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013, creditors considered selling some artworks purchased with city funds. Christie's Auction House appraised the collection and found it worth between $454 million and $867 million. To avoid selling the art, the museum reached an agreement called the "grand bargain." Under this plan, the museum raised $100 million, nine private foundations contributed $330 million, and the state of Michigan added $350 million, totaling $820 million. In return, the city of Detroit transferred ownership of the museum and its collection to a nonprofit organization. Some creditors challenged the plan, claiming it was unfair. Eventually, the plan was approved, and no art was sold.

In 2014, concerns arose when it was discovered that DIA President Graham W. J. Beal and Executive Vice President Anne Erickson received large raises and bonuses in 2013 and 2014. The DIA board later reimbursed $90,000 for bonuses given to three top executives in 2013. Beal announced his retirement in January 2015, but his pay continued to be a topic of criticism. Some officials opposed a retroactive raise for Beal, even though the money came from private donations.

In 2020, a second property tax increase was approved, improving the DIA's financial stability. In 2021, Salort-Pons and the chairman of the DIA Board of Directors, Eugene Gargaro, wrote an article explaining how the tax increase created a unique funding model that allowed the museum to keep all its staff employed.

Notable people

• John W. Dunsmore served as the first director from 1888 to 1891.
• Armand H. Griffith served as the second director from 1891 to 1913.
• Clyde Huntley Burroughs was acting director, then assistant director from 1913 to 1917.
• Charles Moore served as the third director from 1914 to 1917.
• Clyde Huntley Burroughs served as the fourth director from 1917 to 1924.
• Wilhelm Valentiner served as the fifth director from 1924 to 1945.
• Edgar Preston Richardson served as the sixth director from 1945 to 1962.
• Paul L. Grigaut served as acting director for 7 months.
• Willis F. Woods served as the seventh director from 1962 to 1973.
• Frederick J. Cummings served as the eighth director from 1973 to 1984.
• Michael Kan served as acting director for 14 months.
• Samuel Sachs, II served as the ninth director from 1985 to 1997.
• Maurice Parrish served as interim director from 1997 to 1999.
• Graham W. J. Beal served as the tenth director from 1999 to 2015.
• Salvador Salort-Pons has served as the eleventh director since 2015.

• Mehmet Aga-Oglu was curator of Near Eastern Art from 1929 to 1933.
• Francis Waring Robinson was curator of European Art from 1939 to 1947, curator of Ancient and Medieval Art from 1947 to 1968, and curator of Medieval Art from 1968 to 1972.
• William H. Peck was curator of Ancient Art from 1968 to 2004.
• Sam Wagstaff was curator of Contemporary Art from 1968 to 1971.

Bulletin

A museum bulletin has had three different names since 1904:

• From 1904 to 1919: Bulletin of the Detroit Museum of Arts
• From 1919 to 1948: Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit
• From 1948 to the present: Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts