Brief History of the DIA

The DIA has been a beacon of culture for the Detroit area for well over a century. Founded in 1885, the museum was originally located on Jefferson Avenue, but, due to its rapidly expanding collection, moved to a larger site on Woodward Avenue in 1927. The new Beaux-Arts building, designed by Paul Cret, was immediately referred to as the “temple of art.” Two wings were added in the 1960s and 1970s, and a major renovation and expansion that began in 1999 is scheduled for completion in 2007.

The museum covers 600,000 square feet that includes more than 100 galleries, an 1,150-seat auditorium, a 380-seat lecture/recital hall, an art reference library, and a state-of-the-art conservation services laboratory. The current renovation and expansion will add 77,000 square feet.

The DIA’s collection is one of the largest, most significant in the United States, comprising a multicultural and multinational survey of human creativity from prehistory through the 21st century. The foundation was laid by William Valentiner, a scholar and art historian from Berlin, who was director from 1924–45. His extensive contacts in Europe, along with support from generous patrons, enabled him to acquire many important works that established the framework of today’s collections. Among the notable acquisitions during his tenure are Mexican artist Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry fresco cycle, considered Rivera’s most important work in the U.S., and Vincent van Gogh’s Self Portrait, the first van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. museum collection.

A hallmark of the DIA is the diversity of the collection. In addition to outstanding American, European, Modern and Contemporary, and Graphic art, the museum holds significant works of African, Asian, Native American, Oceanic, Islamic, and Ancient art. Among these are the masterpiece sculpture Nail Figure from Zaire and a rare Korean Head of Buddha. In 2000, the DIA established the General Motors Center for African American Art as a curatorial department in order to broaden the museum’s collection of African American art.

The museum’s current director is Graham W. J. Beal, who arrived in 1999 from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the short time Beal has been director, he has established the General Motors Center for African American Art (2000), instituted a reorganization of the development and curatorial departments, and is overseeing the major building construction, renovation and reinstallation project, scheduled for completion in late 2007.

DIA Timeline

1885	The Detroit Museum of Art was founded.
1919	The museum’s name was changed to The Detroit Institute of Arts and its collection was transferred to the City of Detroit.
1922	The DIA acquired Vincent van Gogh’s Self Portrait (1887), the first van Gogh painting to enter a public museum’s collection in the U.S.
1927	A new, expanded building opened on Woodward Avenue, designed by Paul Philippe Cret.
1932-33	Mexican artist Diego Rivera created his renowned Detroit Industry frescoes, which he considered his most important work in the U.S.
1965	A south wing was added, partly to display the growing collection of African and 20th-century art.
1971	A north wing was built to consolidate and expand office space, the research library, and to provide new gallery space.
1983-88	In honor of the museum’s centennial, Romare Bearden was commissioned to create the mosaic Quilting Time, and other important works were acquired, including the rare Korean Head of Buddha.
2000	Van Gogh: Face to Face, organized by the DIA, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was the first comprehensive exhibition devoted exclusively to van Gogh’s portraits. The exhibition holds the museum’s attendance record with 315,000 visitors.
2001	The General Motors Center for African American art was established as a curatorial department.