The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is a small museum in New Jersey focused on American art. Historically, it has been best known for its collections of historical and contemporary Native North American art and paintings by George Inness, who was both a Montclair local and a staple in the canon of American art.
I originally reviewed MAM in 2018, but almost the entire museum has been revamped since then. Thus, this post was last updated on September 16, 2024.
Hey everybody! I’m just reminding you that everything in a museum is subject to change – exhibitions, artworks on display, opening times, and prices. I can only tell you what the museum was like the last time I was there, which might not stay the same. It’s not only that exhibitions change and prices increase; I’ve revisited museums and found their fundamental personalities to be really different from my last visit (or that half their galleries are closed for renovation). I know how sad a disappointing museum visit can be, so I’m reminding you to check everything out on the museum’s website ahead of time.
The Collection
The Native American collection, established more than a century ago, includes over four thousand works and counting, since the museum continues to make acquisitions. The holdings include pottery, jewelry, beadwork, clothing, regalia, carvings, basketry, and more. Before the recent re-installation, this was unquestionably the museum’s main attraction, though last time I visited, the curation was looking dated in more ways than one. Thus, a re-installation was certainly overdue, and one opened on September 14, 2024 (just the day before my visit).
However, it was tough not to feel disappointed by the fact that the space dedicated to the Native American collection has been reduced by about two thirds. There are only fifty works on display now, with the vast majority of them being contemporary. The large Rand Gallery that used to hold the bulk of the Native American exhibition space was showing a temporary exhibition of local artists during my visit. I really hope this is just a temporary state of affairs. The Montclair Art Museum has the unique opportunity to educate people about Native American artistic traditions, but the exhibition I saw really isn’t doing that.
George Inness
Fortunately, I liked the revamped Inness galleries much better. The change was much less dramatic – a simple re-hang and coat of paint on the walls. However, by hanging some of the paintings at double height, there are many more Inness works on display now than I’ve seen in the past. The introductory text says that this is the majority of the collection. What’s more, you can now see paintings from all phases of Inness’s career, not just the spiritual and nearly-abstracted Tonalist landscapes he’s most famous for. While I certainly love those late paintings, seeing the breadth of his career and his stylistic changes along the way made him way more interesting to me. I also liked how the artwork labels appear in binders on the couches in the center of the room. That way, you can read about any object you want to, but doing so has to be a very deliberate decision.
Exhibitions
In addition to these two exhibitions, there was also an exhibition of New Jersey artists, a selection of works from the permanent collection, and a small exhibition of 19th and early-20th century American paintings owned by local collectors Carol and David Wall. I really loved this last exhibition, which is open until February 16, 2025. It featured eighteen works by masters like John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, and Childe Hassam.
Other marquee exhibitions I’ve seen here in the past have included:
- “Kay Walkingstick: An American Artist” (Feb 3 – June 17, 2018), a retrospective of a notable Cherokee-American painter with New Jersey roots.
- “Inspired By Matisse: Selected Works From the Collection” (Feb 2017 – July 29, 2018), which shows works by American artists who drew inspiration from Henri Matisse.
- “Matisse and American Art” – a major exhibition in 2017.
Expert guidance for your next art museum adventure
Details (as of September 16, 2024)
The Montclair Art Museum is located at 3 South Mountain Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey. It’s only open Friday through Sunday, which is a reduction from the past. Admission is $17 for adults, $12 for students/seniors/veterans, and free for children under 12. The museum is small, so you’ll only need about 90 minutes here. Parking in the attached lot is free, and there are a few sculptures on the grounds, too. There’s a gift shop on the main floor and a small cafe with very limited hours on the ground floor along with an art school.
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