Our state-of-the-art art collection storage facility opened to the public on 11.11.2011. To celebrate our 11th anniversary, we are offering a rare opportunity to visit all three of our vaults, including the Cranbrook Archives and our Ceramics and Print Study Rooms featuring new acquisitions to the Cranbrook and Detroit Collections for a 1-hour self-guided experience. Reservation is required for this special collection tour. Guests should meet at the Cranbrook Art Museum Loading Dock for map and orientation.
In addition to artists affiliated with Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum’s collection includes major players from notable art movements such as Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, and Minimalism. In the Print Vault, we will be showcasing a curated selection of recently acquired prints, posters, and ephemera, offering an opportunity to take a closer look at these exquisite examples of printmaking in the 20th century.
Joining in the celebration, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research will share treasures from the Cranbrook Cultural Properties Collections—furniture, artworks, textiles, functional objects, and oddities from across campus that help tell the Cranbrook story. The Center stewards Cranbrook House, Saarinen House, and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House, as well as managing historic collections related to the history of Cranbrook Schools, Christ Church Cranbrook, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Cranbrook Institute of Science. Highlights of each collection will be on display in the Plaza Vault, along with the Center’s curatorial team to answer your questions.
Cranbrook Archives will open the doors to its Reading Room to showcase rare documents—everything from sketchbooks, blueprints, and photographs to home movies, school uniforms, and artist material samples—from its collection of over 2.5 million items. The Archives, part of Cranbrook Center, not only holds the official records of Cranbrook’s institutions, but also material from important alumni and faculty artists, scientists, and scholars. Archivists will be on hand to share these unique pieces of Cranbrook history, including newly acquired and opened collections.
We will also offer free continuous screenings of Room for a Lady: Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook (2022), produced by the Center for Collections and Research, in the deSalle Auditorium. (See some of Loja Saarinen’s textiles in person in our plaza vault.)
The Cranbrook Academy of Art Ceramics Department’s annual Cup Sale will also take place and a special exhibition of work by the department will be on view in the Forum Gallery adjacent to the Art Museum—a great way to kick off the gift-giving and receiving season.
Gallery admission is pay as you wish all day. ArtMembers are invited to register a complimentary guest to attend the 11th Anniversary event and receive a 20% discount on in-store purchases on the 12th of November–shop early for the holidays!
Collections Wing 11th Anniversary Celebration Tour Cost:
General Public: $11 per person
ArtMembers: Free (for membership holder and one guest)
Tagged: Art Collecting, Tour
