We began as a university art collection without a gallery, but with a wealth of vision and bold aspirations. Today, our museum is an architectural landmark and so much more—a newly renovated, dynamic learning space that brings the process of conservation to life for visitors, explores the frontier of art-based wellness, and houses one of the most expansive university museum collections in the United States.
In 1941, Indiana University’s legendary president, Herman B Wells, and Henry Radford Hope, the head of IU’s art department, began to imagine an art collection that gathered works from around the world and all periods in human history. They sought out new donors and supporters, and even personally collected significant works of art that they would later donate.
In 1962, IU opened its Fine Arts Building, allowing the collection to be shared more broadly with IU students and the public. But as works grew in number and quality, it became increasingly clear that the university needed its own dedicated art museum.
For architecture buffs, the modernist structure that was built to conserve and showcase IU’s art collection is a masterpiece unto itself. The building, which opened in 1982, was designed by acclaimed architect I.M. Pei, and is a sibling to his other iconic 20th-century museum designs, including the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre in Paris, France. (Pei also designed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.)
Seventy-five years after its founding, our collection has nearly 45,000 objects, making it one of the largest art holdings of any American university art museum. The treasures in our galleries represent nearly every art-producing culture throughout history from around the world.
Our outreach to IU’s student body has become one of the strongest in an American university, and more than 160,000 K–12 students from southern Indiana have visited the museum. The four new learning centers that have been launched with the renovation of our building introduce an exciting new chapter, cementing our position as one of the premier teaching museums in the United States.
The Eskenazi Museum of Art has an ongoing legacy of extraordinary directors who have each pioneered new chapters in our history.
Henry Radford Hope, head of IU’s art department and our first director, was a specialist in the history of modern art. He earned his doctoral degree from Harvard University, where he studied with Paul Sachs, the architect of a training program that produced several of the 20th century's most influential art museum directors. He and his wife, Sarahanne (Sally), donated some of our most notable works, including Pablo Picasso’s The Studio, and Francesco Solimena's Allegory of the Four Parts of the World. Hope also recruited the important man who would become his successor when he retired in 1971, Thomas T. Solley.
During his 15 years as director, Solley—a Yale University-educated art collector and member of the Indianapolis Lilly family—significantly increased our holdings through personal acquisitions and his relationships with collectors. He also shepherded the museum from its first home in IU’s Fine Arts building to the I.M. Pei-designed structure.
In 1987, the museum’s next director, Adelheid “Heidi” Gealt, began to develop our educational and curatorial departments. She also laid a strong economic foundation for the institution. Under her leadership, the education program and sustaining endowments to secure our future both grew exponentially.
David A. Brenneman, Wilma E. Kelley Director of the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art from 2015 to 2024, oversaw the renaming of the art museum in honor of IU alumni Sidney and Lois Eskenazi in 2016 and led the transformational $30 million renovation of the museum’s signature I.M. Pei building. By adding a new Center for Education and Center for Prints, Drawings and Photographs, among numerous other improvements, the renovation enables more IU students and scholars to access IU’s substantial collection of more than 45,000 works of art.
Brenneman forged a number of important institutional partnerships at the museum, including those with Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing, China, and the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. During his nine-year tenure, he oversaw the acquisition of a broad range of art, from ancient to contemporary, with a special emphasis on adding works by women and artists of color, such as Elizabeth Catlett, Kara Walker, Julie Mehretu, McArthur Binion and Samuel Levi Jones. He oversaw the presentation of numerous special exhibitions, including those focusing on the work of Vik Muniz and Stuart Davis, as well as highlights from the costume collection of actor Glenn Close.
Brenneman helped the museum establish full-time positions in K-12 outreach and the first art therapist in an American university art museum. He was instrumental in establishing a contemporary art collection at the museum.
We believe that seeing art in its original form enriches the cultural, educational, and spiritual well-being of society and we are dedicated to sharing our collection with as many people as possible.
Most of our acquisitions have been the result of gifts of art or purchase funds from individual donors. And in 2016, a major gift from Sidney and Lois Eskenazi was given to help fund a full renovation of the museum. To honor their generosity, the museum was renamed the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, marking the beginning of this exciting new chapter.
Each year, the Eskenazi Museum of Art presents featured exhibitions, acquires new works of art, engages guests with original artworks through gallery tours and special viewings, and connects Pre-K–12 and university students and educators with the museum's collection. The Annual Review presents some of the highlights of our programs through metrics, photographs, and stories.
