Sierra Epke, History 250: The Historian Craft, Spring 2019

Before the creation of the Sheldon Museum of Art, art enthusiasts were sorely disappointed to find the University of Nebraska-Lincoln had no permanent building to house its art collections. Makeshift galleries were created in the first library building and Morrill Hall but soon became too small to house the ever-growing art collections of the Haydon Art Club, later known as the Nebraska Art Association.[1] An immense change would occur after the death of a Nebraska Art Association member. Despite having a relatively small impact on campus while alive, Mary Frances Sheldon (Frances Sheldon) and her brother Adam Bromely Sheldon (Bromely Sheldon)  made large contributions to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus after their deaths by leaving their combined estates to create the permanent home for art collections found at the university in the form of the Sheldon Museum of Art.

The Sheldon family originally hailed from the state of Vermont. After Bromely’s birth in 1887 and Frances’s birth in 1892, the family would move to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1900.[2] George Sheldon, the siblings’ father, provided for the family by working as director of the First National Bank of Weeping Water and operating a lumber yard.Bromely would go on to extend the lumber operation to Lexington and Cozad, Nebraska.[3] Frances Sheldon stayed in Lincoln and joined the Nebraska Art Association in the early 1930’s. She transferred her interests in art to Bromely, and they frequently attended art shows and discussed the state of the exhibits with other members of the organization. It was in these conversations that Frances and other members began to realize the need for a permanent home for artwork attained by the Nebraska Art Association.[4]

After Frances Sheldon’s death in June of 1950, the university received $912,810 from her estate.[5] This is the equivalent to $9,574,126.99 in 2019.[6] Frances had given the University everything but a small amount of personal property like her childhood home. $318,000, of the gift came from real estate properties, and $594,810, was categorized as personal property.[7] These amounts are equivalent to $3,335,384.56 and $6,238,742.43 respectively in 2019.[8] Among the possessions given to the university included a collection of rare paintings worth $5,000. The estimated taxes on the gift payable by the University were less than five hundred dollars.[9] Sheldon stated the money would be used for, “a gallery of the purpose of housing the collection of paintings, sculpture, and other works of art owned by the University, the Nebraska Art Association and similar collections; and the gallery shall be used and maintained by the University solely for that purpose.”[10] She forbade the building being used as classrooms, wanting it to be exclusively for show casing art, and commissioned a meeting room for the Nebraska Art Association where her personal collection would be displayed. Sheldon said, “One room in said gallery shall be luxuriously furnished to be used for board meetings of the Trustees of, and social gatherings of, the Nebraska Art Association; and in this room shall be placed and maintained for a period of twenty-five years, my collection of paintings.”[11]

Bromely Sheldon was entrusted with the responsibility of administrating Frances’s estate. He held the choice of administering it directly to the University or waiting until his death. Like Frances, Bromely took a special interest in art and often went to art exhibits and procured paintings of his own. After developing cancer, Bromely began to transfer the assets over to the University. After his death on September 1, 1957, it was discovered Bromely had bequeathed half of his estate to the University as well.[12] When accounting for the interest accrued on Frances’s original almost one million dollars and Bromely’s contribution of half his estate, the total funds entrusted to the University totaled to around two and a half million dollars. Frances’s will and her sentiments for the money were still enforced, and after Bromely’s death, the money was finally put to use.[13]

A committee headed by the director of University art galleries, Norman Geske, selected Philip C. Johnson as the architect for the upcoming gallery. Johnson was already well-known as a museum architect and was considered one of the leading architects of his time. He had previously worked on the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Seagram Building in New York, and the Auditorium and Art Gallery of the University of St. Thomas in Houston among others.In the 1960s, Johnson began to focus on classical architecture. The Sheldon Museum of Art was an example of using this style with a modern twist.[14] Another focus of Johnson’s building plan was the building itself should be a community symbol. Johnson explained, “The architect must therefore create, inside and out, a symbolic structure which the community can refer to with some pride.”[15] Johnson’s design was also supposed to combat the idea of museum fatigue. Through the use of color, texture, materials, and the position of the object, Johnson tried to create a space where observers could view the piece without distraction.[16]

After the demolishment of the old Chemistry Lab on the corner of 12^th and R streets, construction on the Sheldon Museum of Art officially began. Preliminary conjectures by Johnson estimated the building would cost around fifty dollars per square foot, but by the time of construction, costs had risen.[17]In 1961, the museum cost sixty-seven dollars per square foot to build, making it the most expensive building in the country.[18] In 2019, the same building would cost $702.74 per square foot.[19] The building had four floors, two levels above ground, and two levels below ground. The design allowed ample room for storage, humidity control equipment, offices, and most importantly, galleries.[20] The outside of the building was characterized with columns and arches. These columns and arches were covered with travertine making it a pristine white color. The travertine was specially cut and numbered in Italy and then shipped to the United States. Once builders were ready to the mount the travertine pieces, Italian stone masons arrived to supervise their installation.[21]

In the interior of the museum, the Great Hall runs the length of the building with large glass panes at each entrance.[22] This area was left open to comply with the elegant design. The second floor of the museum contains galleries that are linked by a set of staircases and a bridge. By running across the Great Hall, the bridge was designed to cut down on museum fatigue and give the sense of openness. The north gallery on the second level contains three separate galleries, fifty feet long and twenty-five feet wide. On the south side of the staircase, the room is split into six different galleries. These galleries are smaller only thirty feet long and twenty-four feet wide. The first floor of the building also contains an amphitheater. This amphitheater, which holds 300 people, was created for the purpose of lectures and music recitals.[23] Gallery walls are covered in an eggshell colored carpet. This allows paintings to be hung up and taken down without damaging the walls.[24] Like the outside, the interior walls are covered with travertine, and the ceilings contain circular panels with gold leaf.[25] The building was also outfitted with a system of security sensors and microphones to avoid the burglaries that had occurred when museum collections were held in Morrill Hall.[26]

On May 16, 1963 the Sheldon Museum of Art was declared finished. In a celebration lasting four days, over nine thousand people walked through the museum’s galleries. After three months, over forty thousand people had walked through the museum.[27] For its grand opening, the museum commissioned two pieces of artwork. The first was a sculpture made of granite and marble called “Song of the Bird” by Isamu Noguchi. The second piece was a bronze sculpture by Jaques Lipchitz called “Bather.” Olga Sheldon, Bromley Sheldon’s widow, gifted one more sculpture called “Princess X” by Constantin Brancusi.[28] These sculptures are permanently on display in the Great Hall with “Princess X” being considered as one of the museum’s most valuable pieces.[29]

In terms of artwork, the museum tried to focus most of its collection on 20^th century American art. Norman Geske, director of the Sheldon Museum of Art during its construction and opening stated in the article, Structure Reflects American Art, “Our primary interest is in American art of the 20^th Century in all of its plastic manifestations. Secondly, we have an interest in our American past, not, certainly, in the direction of comprehensiveness, but at least in the succinctness of prime examples.”[30] For its opening, the Sheldon Museum of Art also displayed works from other areas like graphic art from 15^th and 16^th century book illustrations, German expressionism, modern Mexican artists, and drawings done by European artists. Other sculptures from American and European artists were on display along with works by notable artists like Georgia O’Keefe.[31]

In 1950, after Frances’s death, it was hard to imagine the impact her and Bromely’s gifts would have on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. According to the museum building plans, the gallery would be considered one of the best in the Midwest because of its advancements in art education and appreciation after it was completed. It would even rival other museums around the nation except for the large metropolitan museums in New York. Collections displayed by the University were also considered as some of the best in the country. The creation of the museum meant national attention for the University.[32] Helen Foe, president of the Nebraska Art Association in 1950 stated in the article Miss Sheldon’s Bequest Will Make State A Leader In Art, “Miss Sheldon’s contribution to the progress and leadership of Nebraska is inestimable, and the Nebraska Art Association is deeply grateful that her dream of an art building can now be a reality.” The museum was also designed to be a cultural asset to the University and help in the instruction of the arts.[33]

The Sheldon Museum of Art continues to make an impact on local and far away communities today. In a program called Sheldon Statewide, the Sheldon Museum of Art displays works of art from its permanent collections in a traveling exhibition. This program was created in 1987 and has since reached 330,000 people in different Nebraska communities.[34] The museum is also a source for educational opportunities. Tours are given to Lincoln Public Schools students, and 11,000 students have walked through the museum halls. College students in art fields also benefit by seeing exhibits and works of art first hand while learning about them. Annually, 80,000 people visit the Sheldon Museum of Art and interact with it.[35] The Sheldon also inaugurated other cultural events like Jazz in June in 1992.[36]

In 1972, the Sheldon Museum of Art was one of the first museums to receive an accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. This is the highest award given to museums in the United States, and today, the Sheldon Museum of Art’s collections are nation leading. Their collections total over 12,500 works in categories from 19^th century landscapes and stills to abstract expressionism.[37] Because of the death of a Nebraska Art Association member, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was gifted the means to build a cultural icon that would impact current and future generations on the University campus. Despite not heavily impacting the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while alive, Mary Frances Sheldon and Adams Bromely Sheldon greatly impacted the University after their deaths by donating large amounts of their estates to create a permanent home for university and Nebraska Art Association owned art. The Sheldon Museum of Art has become an icon on campus and continues to culturally impact the people that visit it.

End Notes