Sheldon Museum of Art

The museum focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century art and houses over 12,000 artworks spanning multiple American art movements. An outdoor sculpture garden features more than thirty large-scale works. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

• Name — Sheldon Museum of Art • Former Name — Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery • Location — 451 North 12th Street Lincoln, Nebraska United States • Type — Art museum • Collection Size — 13,000 works • Director — Susan Longhenry • Curator — Magdalena Moskalewicz • Architect — Philip Johnson

In 1888, the Sheldon Art Association was founded as the Haydon Art Club in honor of British painter Benjamin Robert Haydon. The club held an annual art exhibit and supplied art education to the university. It was incorporated as the Nebraska Art Association in the early 1900s. • Illustration — The main entrance of the museum in 2013 For decades, the Nebraska Art Association exhibited its collection in buildings around the university, most notably Morrill Hall. A dedicated building was completed in 1963 at the junction of 12th and R Streets on the southwest edge of the University of Nebraska's City Campus. The building, constructed of Italian travertine, includes an ornate great hall and a suspended grand staircase. Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi was invited to create and install a work in the grand hall, which he titled "Song of the Bird," as part of the building's opening ceremonies. Architect Philip Johnson proclaimed the Sheldon the best building he ever designed: "today the museum building stands as a community like the church courthouse of the last century. The architect must therefore create, inside and out, a symbolic structure which the community can refer to with some pride... The symbolic function of the Sheldon Gallery is fulfilled, I feel, not only the 'classical' exterior of travertine but mainly by the great hall which orients the visitor, as well as elevating his spirits." The building was designed to avoid what Johnson called "museum fatigue," a state of physical or mental exhaustion common among museum patrons. The museum was established as the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in honor of donors Mary and Adams Sheldon, who both died during construction. The siblings funded the entire project, combining to give over $1.5 million. The museum became the Sheldon Museum of Art in 2008, the same year its supporting organization was renamed the Sheldon Art Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September 2013.

Norman Geske became the first director of the museum in 1956. He is credited with establishing the Sheldon's modern art collection and several other cultural programs, including the Interstate 80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project, the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, and the Sheldon Film Theater (now the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center). • 1956–1983: Norman Geske • 1983–1999: George Neubert • 2001–2008: Janice Driesbach • 2008–2014: Jorge Daniel Veneciano • 2014–2023: Wally Mason • 2023–present: Susan Longhenry In February 2025, the museum appointed Magdalena Moskalewicz as the Chief Curator and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Randy Guthmiller as Associate Director for Learning, Engagement and Public Practice.

The Sheldon conducts approximately twenty exhibitions per year, focusing on American art in all media and typically including educational programs such as lectures, children's workshops, and tours. Curatorial staff organizes exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection, many of which circulate nationally. The program includes exhibitions organized by peer institutions throughout the United States.

The canonical record carries the following identifying particulars. It is also recorded that sheldon Museum of Art is recorded from 1963. Institutional cataloguing adds that sheldon Museum of Art is associated with United States.