Tuscaloosa Museum of Art

The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, previously the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art, was an art museum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was founded by Tuscaloosa businessman Jack Warner.[1] The museum permanently closed in 2018.[2]

Tuscaloosa Museum of Art
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Established2003 (2003) (as Westervelt-Warner Museum)
2011 (as Tuscaloosa Museum of Art)
Dissolved2018 (2018)
Location1400 Jack Warner Parkway NE, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
Coordinates33°17′35″N 87°30′18″W / 33.29306°N 87.50500°W / 33.29306; -87.50500
TypeArt

The Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art was the result of 40 years of collecting American art by Jack Warner, CEO of Gulf States Paper, later the Westervelt Company.[1] He founded the museum in 2003 after exhibiting portions of the collection in the headquarters building of the Westervelt Company.[3]

The Westervelt-Warner collection contained more than 500 works from 1775 onwards.[4] Artists represented included John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam as well as several artists of importance to American art, including Albert Bierstadt, Rembrandt Peale, Edward Hicks, Thomas Moran, Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, Edward Potthast, and Charles Bird King.[2] Other artists' works included James McNeill Whistler, Andrew Wyeth, Mary Cassatt, and James Peale.[2] Warner collected several works about George Washington, his personal hero, including John Faed's Portrait of George Washington Taking the Salute at Trenton.[5]

In 2011, the Westervelt-Warner Museum became the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art.[1][6][7][8] In 2018, the Westervelt Company closed the museum, citing its “long-term strategy as a company”. Some of the art was to reside in the company's headquarters, while the rest was prepared for sale.[2]

Portrait of George Washington Taking the Salute at Trenton by John Faed

References

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  1. ^ a b c "More American masterworks exit Westervelt-Warner Museum". Artfixdaily. May 3, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Museum's closure means breaking up of unique art collection". Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists. August 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Robby Johnson (April 22, 2011). "The Westervelt Art Collection to remain in Tuscaloosa". Newsroom. The Westervelt Company. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Westervelt Warner Museum of American Art, YouTube.
  5. ^ "Jack Warner". Alabama Forest. Alabama Forestry Association. 2017. pp. 6–9. One of Jack Warner's favorite acquisitions, the painting by John Faed Washington Taking the Salute at Trenton
  6. ^ Mark Hughes Cobb (April 6, 2011). "29 paintings removed from Westervelt-Warner museum". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  7. ^ Mark Hughes Cobb (December 1, 2011). "Warner collection moves to Tuscaloosa Museum of Art". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "Basic info". The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art: Home of the Westervelt Collection. Facebook. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
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