Columbus Museum of Art

The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Established in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, it holds the distinction of being the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The institution collects and exhibits American and European modern and contemporary art, alongside folk art, glass art, and photography. Since 2023, the museum has been led by Executive Director Brooke Minto.

The museum was founded in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts. The Columbus Art School, which later became the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), was established a year later and affiliated with the museum in 1887. Beginning in 1919, the museum was housed in the mansion of Francis C. Sessions, a founder of the Columbus Art School, who had deeded the property to the institution. The museum operated in the Sessions house until 1923, when the building was demolished to make way for a new facility. The institution adopted its current name, the Columbus Museum of Art, during its centennial in 1978. In September 2018, the Pizzuti Collection, a museum located in the Short North neighborhood, was donated to the CMA along with part of its collection, operating as a branch of the institution. Both the main museum and the Pizzuti branch temporarily closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the museum became part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network, launched by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

When the current museum building opened in 1931, the collection consisted of 500 artworks displayed across 10 galleries. Over the following decades, the holdings grew to over 10,000 works. The permanent collection is particularly strong in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American and European modern art. Its foundational strengths are anchored by major acquisitions such as the Ferdinand Howald Collection of early Modernist paintings, the Sirak Collection of Impressionist and Expressionist works, the Photo League Collection, and the Philip and Suzanne Schiller Collection of American Social Commentary Art. The museum also holds the largest collections of works by Columbus-born artists Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, Elijah Pierce, and George Bellows. In 2013, the institution received the National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the highest federal award given to museums and libraries for community engagement.

The museum's original 1931 building, now known as the Elizabeth M. and Richard M. Ross Building, was designed by the Columbus architectural firm Richards, McCarty and Bulford in the Second Renaissance Revival style. It features a concrete foundation, limestone and concrete walls, and a truncated copper hipped roof. The horizontal, two-story facade has a central structure advanced several feet in front of its two wings. The wings feature large limestone friezes collectively known as The Frederick W. Schumacher Frieze or Masters of Art, sculpted by Robert Ingersoll Aitken and depicting 68 artists from 490 B.C. to 1925 A.D. The original main entryway consists of three arched portals with decorative moldings, keystones, bulls-eye medallions, and stone quoins, accessed via sixteen limestone steps flanked by Italian-style lamp posts. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1992, under its original name. A rear addition was constructed in 1974. A massive reconstruction and expansion began in 2007. The first phase concluded on January 1, 2011, with the opening of the 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) Center for Creativity, which includes a Creativity Lounge, The Studio, The Wonder Room, the Big Idea Gallery, and an Open Gallery. The final phase opened on October 25, 2015, with the Margaret M. Walter Wing, designed by Michael Bongiorno of DesignGroup. This 50,000-square-foot addition, accompanied by a 40,000-square-foot renovation, added new galleries, a new main entrance, a shop, a restaurant, and a sculpture garden. The administrative offices, known as Beaton Hall, incorporate elements from the entranceway of the original Sessions house.

The Columbus Museum of Art is located at 480 East Broad Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The museum offers free general admission on Thursday evenings from 5:00 to 10:00 PM as part of its BAM Thursdays program, which features live music, performances, and access to the Patricia M. Jurgensen Sculpture Garden. The museum's official website provides a searchable catalogue of its art collection for visitors and researchers.