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The Newark Museum
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Wed-Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 10:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
5 reviews for The Newark Museum
I made the pilgrimage to the Newark Museum solely to see my art on display (the narcissist in me). Perhaps it was the weather but it seemed that there were not that many patrons on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The museum reminded me of the Oakland museum, a desolate yet contemplative structure in the midst of older blighted buildings. The staff was professional despite the fact that there were hardly anyone there.
My art piece was lent to the Museum for the Quiet Gesture Exhibit. The Exhibit was officially over the day before so I was relieved to find everything still up. The four artist featured are Zhang Huan, Zhan Wang, Wang Jin, and my artist, Lu Shengzhong.
The museum did a great job with the large sculpture exhibits in the garden and I found my work well displayed in the cafe lounge. It was pretty funny as I had to sneak a picture of my own art work as cameras were not allowed. [I did not want to get into it with the ladies who are only doing "their" job.]
A father and daughter came by while I was looking at my piece and he actually started to reach out to touch it....which of course I had to remind him "no touching".
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Iv'e been here a number of times and should have started coming sooner.Look this is not a great museum but it is a very good one and it makes for an enjoyable afternoon.In particular the museum is notable for its Tibetan collection which is out standing.There is also a good collection of African art as well as a solid collecton of American art.The Ballantine House is a pleasure to walk through.Hang around and go to dinner in the Iron Bound later.Finally there is a weird little zoo upstairs that I hope they still have .
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Highly reccomended!
You have to see the exhibit of decorative ... bugs .. an art installation created in the victorian mansion that is a wing of the museum. The artist took all of these colorful tropical bugs and arranged them on the walls, furniture and elsewhere into these extraordinary designs, like wallpaper. Really unique.
Meanwhile the rest of the museum had substantial exhibits in American Art, including a number of Hudson River School paintings. There were a number of exhibits and programs for kids, including one on Money, with samples throughout other cultures and times, which my son really enjoyed.
OK, so we also went on a winter Sunday, and the place was pretty empty, and this was a shame, because if Newark was a normal city in another state, this would be ranked a truly excellent museum, with quite a breadth of holdings, and considerable strengths. It's only that in the proximity of NYC and the world class museums there, perhaps it suffers by comparison. I also noted a number of upcoming programs and exhibits, but even without them we filled up an afternoon quite easily.
We will definitely come back.
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Currently, the museum has four main attractions for adults:
1 the Ballantine House, which is a preserved Victorian mansion
2 a large collection of Tibetan art, presented well and consecrated by the Dalai Lama, and Native American art (explained by bright a.)
3 a walk through American images, featuring a rich collection of American impressionist paintings collected as they were painted
4 the Planetarium shows (which I haven't seen yet)
A few areas are under construction, so I'll report back in a little bit about those.
Some might say this museum is designed for kids--I would say it's designed for students of art. Aren't we all students of art? If you do have kids, there are hundreds of little learning opportunities for them written in simple English, and even whole exhibits devoted to them.
If you live in Newark, bring your driver's license or phone bill or something with your address, because admission is free! Otherwise just bring $7 for adults and $3 for kids. (planetarium costs around $4 extra).
They have a little cafe and gift shop which are worth a visit. I didn't buy anything but it looked good.
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Connected to the Ballantine House and preserving the prototypical schoolhouse in its rear courtyard, this Newark treasure is one of the nicest finds in the city left standing. The Native American collection is impressive, and almost singlehandedly the work of one archaeologist of 1910s Pacific Northwest. The other ethnic exhibits show a surprising range for an underrated museum, but don't miss the American Impressionists or the planetarium shows either.
Spring and summer are possibly the best seasons, as outdoor string quartet concerts are held on occasion, and the rear courtyard lets you imagine what Newark was like 250 years ago.
-BrAp
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