Company Profile

Raclin Murphy Museum Of Art

Company Overview

The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (formerly known as the Snite Museum of Art) provides opportunities to enjoy, respond to, learn from, and be inspired by original works of art. As a department of the University of Notre Dame, the Museum was founded on the principle that art is essential to understanding individual, shared, and diverse human experiences and beliefs. The museum encourages close-looking and critical thinking. Experiences with significant, original works of art are intended to stimulate inquiry, dialogue, and wonder for audiences across the academy, the community, and around the world—all in support of the University of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission.

Considered one of America's finest university art museums, its permanent collection contains over 30,000 works representing many of the principal cultures and periods of world art history.

The University of Notre Dame is committed to diversity in its staff, faculty, and student body. As such, we strongly encourage applications from minority group members, women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and others who will enhance our community. The University of Notre Dame, an international Catholic research university, is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Company History

The University of Notre Dame was founded by Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., in 1842 as a traditional liberal arts university. The academy has always included active visual and performing arts programing and collecting objects on campus began in 1875.

In 1917 Rev. John Cavanaugh, C.S.C., then president of the University, acquired 136 paintings previously owned by the Braschi family of Rome. Also in 1917 the construction of the University’s new library, Bond Hall, was completed. The second floor contained four large galleries for displaying the University’s art collection.

In 1924 Charles A. Wightman donated 108 paintings of religious subjects in memory of his late wife, Cecilia and the second-floor of the new University Library in Bond Hall were named in her honor.

Dom Gregory Gerrer, O.S.B., an American Benedictine monk who had studied art in Rome, was the first curator and art conservator. He was supervised by the director of the library, Paul R. Byrne. Gerrer published a catalog of the collection in 1925, which was expanded and republished in 1934.

In 1952, at the request of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Ignatius A. O'Shaughnessy funded construction of O'Shaughnessy Hall, a new home for the College of Liberal Arts. It included the construction of the O'Shaughnessy Art Gallery, which opened in 1953 and remains today one of the primary special exhibition spaces of the Snite Museum of Art.

In 1955 Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic moved from Syracuse University to Notre Dame at the invitation of Father Hesburgh and the Mestrovic Sculpture Studio was constructed for his use as instructor and artist-in-residence. In it he created numerous public artworks for the campus during the last seven years of his life.

In the early 1960s artist and faculty member, Rev. Anthony J. Lauck, C.S.C., was selected to serve as the director of the galleries. Through his New York and Chicago art connections the permanent collection continued to grow. Dean Porter, PhD, succeeded Howett as curator in 1966 and became director when Father Lauck retired in 1974.

One of Father Lauck’s last projects was to shepherd the gallery into accreditation by the American Association of Museums. This goal was achieved in 1974. The Museum has successfully maintained this professional status by undergoing a rigorous external review every ten years.

In December 1976, some months after the sale of his Chicago area business, Local Loan, to Mellon National Bank, Frederick B. Snite, Sr., presented then-University President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., a $2 million check from the Snite Foundation. This very generous gift provided the funding for a new art museum on campus, named the Snite Museum of Art, in memory of his son, Frederick B. Snite, Jr, who died in 1954. The museum opened in November of 1980 and admirably served the campus and area community members for over forty-three years.

In May 2023, the Snite Museum of Art became the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art in preparation for the December 1, 2023, opening of the new art museum built in the Charles B. Hayes Family Sculpture Park on the south edge of campus. It was made possible through the generosity of major donors Ernestine Raclin and her daughter and son-in-law Carmi and Christopher Murphy.

Considered one of the finest university art museums in America, the Museum's permanent collection contains nearly 30,000 works representing many of the principal cultures and periods of world art history.

These objects support the University's interest in diversity and provide opportunities for students to do original research. The Latino, African, African American, and Native North American collections enable the Raclinl Murphy Museum of Art to interpret these cultures for students, alumni, general visitors, and schoolchildren who may otherwise have limited exposure to them. In addition, Mesoamerican and Latino collections have been developed to reflect the interaction of native and colonial Catholic religious traditions, in much the same way Caribbean collections can illustrate the confluence of African, Latino, and colonial Catholic traditions. Special exhibitions also support the Museum's interest in presenting works of art from other world cultures.

The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art's extensive collections of Renaissance, Medieval, old master, and nineteenth-century art reflect the traditions and history of the Catholic Church as the major patron of the visual arts during those time periods.

Collections prioritized for continued development include the following:
-Indigenous Art of the Americas
-Nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century photography
-Old master to nineteenth-century paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints
-Design and decorative arts
-Modern and contemporary art
-and the Charles B. Hayes Family Sculpture Park

Benefits

For more information on the employee benefits offered by the University, see those listed on hr.nd.edu

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    26 days ago

    Associate Curator of the Indigenous Americas and Africa

    Raclin Murphy Museum Of Art - Notre Dame, IN, United States
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    The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame invites applications and nominations for the position of Associate Curator of the Indigenous Americas and Africa. Generally recognized as among the nation s finest university art museums, the newly opened Raclin Murphy Museum holds one of the largest collections at an academic institution. Works from the Americas (North, Central, and South) are highly regarded, and its holdings of African art have increased greatly in recent ...

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