20150310

MUSEUM

Visual education was "the most powerful of all teaching methods". At the 1929 conference of the Museums Association, the emphasis of establishing a museum was: education and display (of artistic objects, historic items or scientific material for the enjoyment of the general public), research and collection and preservation. In 1943, Mary Apple, then President of the Museum Association stressed the importance of a museum to the cultural life of the city and also as an educational institution. The demand for more museums grew during the 1700s (the Age of Enlightenment) as people began to understand that education should be provided "for one and all". 

The Latin word museum originated from the Greek word "mouseion" meaning a temple devoted to "The Nine Muses", the goddess of arts and sciences. It was understood "temples in ancient Greece were places where beautiful ornaments of gold, silver or bronze were displayed, along with collections of statues, vases and paintings." The general public were said allowed to view those collections. It was also noted, "Palaces and temples in China and Japan before 1000AD had impressive collections of art objects. During the 1400s and 1500s European explorers brought back lots of treasures from the Far East and from the Americas. Many of the items were displayed in cabinets that lined the walls of long, narrow rooms called galleries. The collections were called 'cabinets.'" 

Around 300BC, museum was used as a library and research center in Alexandria, Egypt. During the 1500s and 1600s, Royal families hired craftsmen and artists to create art objects and furnishings which went on display in private galleries. The first public museum, Ashmolean, opened in 1683 at Oxford University in England displaying rare objects collected by Elias Ashmole. 

In 1750, the French government began letting the public inside the Palais de Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace in Paris) at least 2 days each week to view the French Royal art collections featuring about 100 paintings. The Louvre became the first public art museum in 1793 showcasing 16th century Royal collections of King Francis I. In 1795, the French Royal art collections were relocated to the Louvre. Initially, it was only students and artists who were allowed to visit the artistic displays. The British Museum in London was set up as a public institution in 1753 displaying a collection of "manuscripts, plant and specimens and curiosities, previously belonging to Kings and noblemen." However it "wasn’t an easy place to visit". Request for admission to the British Museum and others like it had to be made in advance and in writing. Even by 1800, it could take 2 weeks or longer before admission tickets to small groups would be delivered for 2-hour visits only. 

In 1738, the National Museum in Naples opened; the Uffizi in Florence opened in 1743; the Museo Sacro in 1756 and the Museo Pio Clementino in 1770 as parts of the Vatican Museum complex. In 1771, the National Science Museum in Madrid opened. Royal art collections were also opened about this time for limited public viewing in Vienna, Dresden, Germany and at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. 

The first American museum, the Charleston Library Society, was opened in 1773 in Charleston, South Carolina, displaying objects relating to South Carolina's natural history. It was reported, "In about 75 years from the time the Charleston establishment opened and 1850, there were more than 60 galleries and historical societies established in the American colonies (such as the 1782 museum in Philadelphia ran by Pierre Du Simitiere; the 1786  museum also in Philadelphia ran by Charles Peale; the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston opened in 1791, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., opened in 1846 and the first historic-house museum, President George Washington’s headquarters in Newburg, New York, which opened in 1850)." 

"During the Middle Ages," it was made known, "many churches and monasteries in Europe became places where manuscripts, statues, jewels and relics from the saints were put on display. Spoils from the Crusades were also added."

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