Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art

The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art is a free public art museum situated on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Established in 1980, the institution originated as a venue for changing temporary exhibitions but evolved into an accredited museum with a permanent collection of over 6,000 works. It serves as a vital cultural resource for the university and the public, maintaining strong international partnerships and organizing traveling exhibitions that reach audiences across North America and Europe.

The museum was established in 1980 through a donation from Chicago art collectors and philanthropists Mary Lasker Block and Leigh B. Block, the latter a former vice president of Inland Steel Company. Northwestern University named the original exhibition space the Mary and Leigh Block Gallery in recognition of their gift. Initially modeled on the German kunsthalle tradition, the gallery operated without a permanent collection, focusing solely on rotating temporary exhibits. This changed as the university transferred many of its existing art pieces to the gallery, which also began acquiring works through purchases and gifts. In 1998, reflecting its growing collection and expanded programming, the institution received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and was renamed the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art. The museum subsequently embarked on a major reconstruction project in 1999, reopening in a new facility in September 2000.

Although initially conceived without permanent holdings, the museum rapidly built a collection through acquisitions, gifts, and university transfers. Today, the collection comprises more than 6,000 works, with particular strengths in works on paper. The holdings are especially focused on drawings, prints, and photographs, reflecting the institution's academic setting and its commitment to accessible, curriculum-integrated art. The museum also stewards an outdoor sculpture garden and installations distributed across the university's Arts Circle.

The permanent collection features significant works spanning several centuries, with a particular emphasis on European modernism and contemporary art. Highlights include works on paper by Albrecht Durer, Honoré Daumier, Max Beckmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Mary Cassatt, and Henri Matisse, alongside postwar and contemporary pieces by Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, and Kiki Smith. The outdoor sculpture garden, established in 1989, features sixteen sculptures donated to Northwestern University by the Blocks and other supporters.

The museum is located at 40 Arts Circle Drive on the Northwestern University campus. The original 1980 building was designed by the Chicago architecture firm Loebl Schlossman and Hackl. Following a major reconstruction project in 1999, the museum reopened in September 2000 in a new facility designed by the Chicago architectural firm Lohan Associates, led by architect Dirk Lohan. The building incorporates steel, glass, and limestone into its design. The surrounding site includes a sculpture garden designed by the Chicago architect John Vinci, which integrates artworks into the outdoor and indoor public spaces of the Arts Circle.

The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art operates as a free public art museum on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Under the leadership of director Lisa Graziose Corrin, who assumed the role in January 2012, the museum actively collaborates with international institutions such as the Yale University Art Gallery, the Nasher Art Museum at Duke University, the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. These partnerships facilitate traveling exhibitions that extend the museum's scholarly and curatorial reach worldwide.