Indianapolis Museum Of Art

One of the 10 oldest general art museums in the country, the Indianapolis Museum of art boasts a collection of over 50,000 works of art.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art offers visitors an inclusive view of creativity through its collection of more than 54,000 works of art that span 5,000 years of history from across the world's continents. Encompassing 152 acres of gardens and grounds, the IMA is among the 10 largest encyclopedic art museums in the United States, and it features significant collections of African, American, Asian, European and contemporary art, as well as a newly established collection of design arts. The collections include paintings, sculpture, furniture and design objects, prints, drawings and photographs, as well as textiles and costumes.

Through its new articulation of the interconnectedness of art, design and nature, the IMA welcomes its visitors to experiences at the Museum, in 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, which will be the largest contemporary art park in the United States when it opens in June 2010, and at Oldfields, Lilly House & Gardens, an historic Country Place Era estate on the IMA's grounds.

As one of the 10 oldest general art museums in the country, the Indianapolis Museum of Art was founded during American history’s most remarkable movement in creating museum institutions, starting in the 1870s when New York and Boston established their museums. With the United States centennial celebration, the impulse to create art institutions swept westward. In 1883, Indianapolis joined the forefront of this movement with the founding of the Art Association of Indianapolis, which later became the Indianapolis Museum of Art.