The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is an art museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It has art from the Renaissance period to modern times, as well as special collections focusing on European and American art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum's collection includes famous modern art pieces, like Richard Diebenkorn's 1963 painting called Ingleside. The museum has 5,000 art pieces in its collection, including more than 3,500 prints, drawings, and photographs.
History
The museum was established in 1910 and originally called the Grand Rapids Art Gallery. Its name was later changed to its current name. The museum first operated in an old home located at 230 Fulton Street. In 1981, it moved to the historic Federal Building on Pearl Street.
In 2004, the museum started building a new green structure that would be LEED certified. The building covers 125,000 square feet (11,600 m ) and includes 20,000 square feet (1,900 m ) of space for art displays and exhibitions. It has been certified as LEED Gold. In 2002, the London-based firm Munkenbeck+Marshall Architects was chosen to design the new building. They worked on the design from the initial idea to the final plans. However, in the summer of 2004, the museum board ended their work on the project and hired Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture to finish the building.
Artists
Many artists have shown their work in the museum, including Samuel Yellin, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, Doug Argue, Ryan Spencer Reed, and many other artists.