Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum, art institution, located in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The museum was founded in 1823 as the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association. In 1890 the name was changed to the Brooklyn Institute. The Brooklyn Museum has been known by its current name since 1913. It has occupied its present site since 1897. The museum's original plans would have made it the largest museum in the world; in 1986 an architectural team of Arata Isozaki and Associates/James Stewart Polshek undertook to renovate and complete the museum. The renovation created new art storage space and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, which opened in 1991. Recently completed renovations to the museum's West Wing, which was renamed the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, created 2787 sq m (30,000 sq ft) of new gallery space, which opened to the public in 1993.

Since its founding the museum has taken a broad view on collecting and has assembled a multicultural, encyclopedic collection. Its collections include a large number of works from outside the European tradition. The museum's permanent collections are separated into six departments: Egyptian, classical, and ancient Middle Eastern art; Arts of Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas; Asian art; decorative arts, costumes, and textiles; prints, drawings, and photographs; and painting and sculpture. Among its pieces are 12 monumental reliefs from a neo-Assyrian palace, a sculpted head from 1900 bc that belonged to the Roman Emperor Hadrian, Andean textiles, Mexican sculpture, Islamic and Asian sculpture, porcelains, art deco objects, and artworks by John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Francisco de Goya, Vincent Van Gogh, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

The art reference library includes sections on American, African, and Native American art. The Wilbour Library is recognized as one of the world's most comprehensive Egyptological research collections. Educational programs serve about 100,000 members of the public each year through workshops, lectures, classes, and films. The museum works with the New York City public school system to provide class tours of its exhibitions and permanent collections.

Reviewed by: The Brooklyn Museum