CLEVELAND.- The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) returns more than 900 works of art to 19 spectacularly renovated galleries on the second floor of its historic 1916 museum building on June 29. These works from the museum’s permanent collection have been in storage since 2005 when CMA closed for an expansion and renovation project that is re-imagining the museum for the community. Works to be featured when the second floor of the historic 1916 building reopens at the end of June include world-renowned masterpieces from the museum’s collections of European art from 1600-1800 and American art from 1700-1900, as well as the beloved Armor Court.

“Let me be the first to welcome back the community to its museum and its collection,” Timothy Rub, CMA director, said. “This transformational project will not only impact, enlighten and entertain audiences today but will affect generations to come.”

Visitors returning to the 1916 second floor galleries will enjoy works from the heart of the museum’s collection of Western European art as well as the formative stages in the development of American art. The newly renovated galleries are arranged around three spaces: the Armor Court, the central rotunda and the former interior garden court. The interior garden court has been transformed into a gallery for Italian painting and sculpture from 1600-1800 and the display of miniatures and other small works from 17th-century Europe. The rotunda, cleared of display cases previously installed there, is now the central orientation spot from which to explore the building. The Armor Court, meanwhile, is virtually unchanged since its comprehensive renovation in 1998.

Works from the following collections will be on view:

The Armor Court is the largest and preeminent regional collection of arms and armor and revered as the finest space in the U.S. dedicated to arms and armor

European painting and decorative art, 1600 – 1800

French and German art, 1700 – 1800

Dutch painting, 1600 – 1800

European painting and sculpture from 1600 – 1700, one of the greatest collections of Italian Baroque painting in America

The art of Fabergé –one of the largest collections of Fabergé outside of Russia

Neoclassical painting and sculpture

Neoclassical decorative art

British painting, sculpture, and decorative art, 1700 – 1900

European miniatures from 1570s – 1820s on permanent view for the first time in years in a special, dedicated gallery

American painting, sculpture, and decorative art, 1700 – 1900
Visitors strolling through the galleries can expect to see some of CMA’s most iconic works back on view including:

Terpsichore, Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757 - 1822) 1816

The Holy Family with Mary Magdalene, El Greco (Spanish, 1541 - 1614) c. 1590 - 1595

Christ on the Cross, El Greco (Spanish, 1541 - 1614) c. 1600 - 1610

The Jester Calabazas, Diego de Velázquez (Spanish, 1599 - 1660) c. 1631 - 1632

Stag at Sharkey's, George Bellows (American, 1882 - 1925) 1909

Dora Wheeler, William Merritt Chase (American, 1849 - 1916) 1882 - 1883

Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826 - 1900) 1860

Apollo and the Muses (five works) by Charles Meynier (French, 1768 - 1832)

Polymnia, Muse of Eloquence, 1800

Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry, 1802

Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry, 1800

Clio, Muse of History, 1798

Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy, 1798

Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg, House of Fabergé (Russian, 1846 - 1920) 1915

Armor for Man and Horse with Völs-Colonna Arms, Italy, 1575

Double-Barreled Sporting Gun of Napoleon I, Jean Le Page (French) 1809

Opening Day Celebration – June 29
To celebrate this milestone in the museum’s expansion and renovation, the public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 29, 2008. Museum officials and regional dignitaries will address the public and officially open the galleries. Visitors attending the opening day celebration can enjoy a full day of free events and programs for all ages.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, South Terrace
10:30–11:00 a.m.

Join director Timothy Rub, community leaders, and students from the Cleveland Institute of Music and John Hay High School for the official ceremony.