The museum's exhibition and cultural programming have come to be centered on leading contemporary artists, often giving these artists their first group or solo museum exhibitions:
Frank Stella,
Kiki Smith,
Nam June Paik, and
Dana Schutz among them. The Rose Art Museum has a leading collection of
modern and
contemporary art in
New England.
Origin and early years Before Brandeis graduated its first class in 1951, the university had already in its possession more than 300 paintings, including works by
Stuart Davis,
Fernand Léger,
Milton Avery, and
George Grosz. calling a 1969 exhibit of sculpture by James Rosatti "an event of some importance"; and devoting a full-length article to a 1981
Helen Frankenthaler exhibition. In 1970, the museum presented to the public
Vision & Television, the first video art exhibition in the United States. In 1971, the Rose Art Museum received a major influx of artworks from the former
Riverside Museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. These acquisitions were designated as the "Louis and Nettie Horch Collection", or the "Riverside Museum Collection". In 1989, the Rose trustees and staff formally redefined the mission of the museum as focussed on contemporary art. Nevertheless, on November 6, 1991, eleven works were auctioned off at
Christie's, bringing in $3.65 million which Brandeis said would be used for "an endowment that will pay for acquisitions, education and conservation".
Plans for closure (2009-2011) On January 26, 2009, Brandeis president
Jehuda Reinharz announced in an email to staff and students plans to close the museum by the end of the summer in response to the
2008 financial crisis. University spokesman Dennis Nealon called the surprise announcement a "hard decision", but said, "The bottom line is that the students, the faculty and core academic mission come first. Trustees had to look at the college's assets and came to a decision to maintain that fundamental commitment to teaching." The proposal was quickly criticized by the museum's director and board, numerous art-world figures, and some donors to the museum. The
Massachusetts Attorney General's office has approval powers over certain actions of nonprofit institutions located in the state, and Attorney General
Martha Coakley said she planned to conduct a detailed review of the decision relative to wills and agreements made with donors. The Association of College and University Museums and Galleries (ACUMG) published a statement specifically opposing the Rose Art Museum closure and sale of its collection. In April 2009, an ongoing Task Force for the Protection of University Collections was organized by members of multiple museum professional organizations, to oppose the liquidation of university museums and galleries, and to provide professional resources for support of these threatened institutions. On July 27, 2009, three of the museum's overseers filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts to halt the closing and sale of works. The three, including a member of the Rose family, contended that the planned closing contradicted the museum's "charitable intentions", violated the trust of those who donated art to the institution, and reneged on "Brandeis's promises that the Rose would be maintained in perpetuity". Ironically, a major new book was to be published in October 2009 by
Abrams Books, anticipating the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Rose Art Museum. The lead contributor to the book was the museum's director,
Michael Rush, who initially was "shell-shocked" by the surprise closure announcement. He ruefully noted that the number of visitors to the museum had markedly increased, due to the growing controversy. Rush helped to organize opposition to the proposed closing, but his employment contract with Brandeis was not renewed in June 2009, effectively forcing him out. The fate of the Rose Art Museum remained in contention, but a final resolution was slow in coming. The museum continued operations, but did little to initiate new programs in the absence of a permanent director. By June 30, 2011, under the new leadership of Brandeis president
Frederick M. Lawrence, the lawsuit that had been brought against the university to prevent the closing of the Rose was settled. The museum had remained open, and no works of art were sold to support university operations.
October 2011 reopening After a brief closing period to undergo major renovations, the Rose Art Museum reopened October 25, 2011. This coincided with the 50th anniversary of the museum, which was also celebrated with ceremonies including speeches by the university president Frederick M. Lawrence and the artist
James Rosenquist. In 2016, the Rose Art Museum joined with five other university and college arts museums to create the New Media Arts Consortium. This group was formed to jointly acquire and share digital, interactive, and new media works.
Post COVID-19 reopening In June 2020, Brandeis University named renowned Israeli art historian and author
Gannit Ankori as the interim Director and Chief Curator of the museum, and permanently confirmed these appointments in December. Ankori succeeded former Rose director
Luis Croquer, who had left the museum in June 2020. In celebration of the reopening and the museum's 60th anniversary, the Rose presented
re:collections, a three-year-long rotating retrospective of the museum's collection. The exhibition placed less-known (and often excluded and marginalized artists) in juxtaposition to famous art figures to bring new voices and correct art history's exclusionary practices. ==Collections==