The Cranbrook Art Museum (CAM) was originally housed in what is known today as the Academy of Art Administration building, along with the Academy of Art Library. The Art Museum was, and still is, a department of the Academy of Art. The Academy of Art was a department of the Cranbrook Foundation until 1942 when it was accredited as its own institution. The original collection was an eclectic mixture of art and artifacts spanning the centuries, including stained glass, architectural fragments, sculptures, paintings, ceramics, glass, furniture, textiles, metalwork and known reproductions. Selected and purchased by Cranbrook’s founder George Booth, the collection was donated to the Cranbrook Foundation in 1927. Formally established in 1930, the Art Museum espoused Booth’s intention to create a collection that would complement the art library so that Academy of Art students could examine the actual form as well as study its design in books of historical art themes and objects. Booth also wanted to create a modern art collection that would serve as a record of contemporary design and convey the living nature of art. The first exhibition was a blend of art and science objects, but by 1932, the science objects had been relocated to the Institute of Science. Subsequent exhibitions were held in the Pavilion (now St. Dunstan’s) which had been converted to an events and exhibition space. Exhibitions primarily featured the work of the campus artists, including Carl Milles, Zoltan Sepeshy, and Maija Grotell. By 1940, the collections and exhibitions had grown significantly and required the need for a larger building. In 1942, the collection moved into a new purpose-built museum building, the last building designed at Cranbrook by the Finnish American architect Eliel Saarinen. The new Library and Art Museum building maintained the original relationship between books and objects for students and the public. Completed during World War II, the museum operated on a limited basis until the post-war period. In 1945, a full series of temporary exhibitions, primarily traveling exhibitions, were featured, and gradually, the museum exhibition featured more robust exhibitions of the work of students and faculty. Although the collection remained encyclopedic in scope, new acquisitions and temporary exhibitions increasingly emphasized contemporary art. In January 1955, the museum launched with a new name, “Cranbrook Academy of Art Galleries,” and a new mission to stress contemporary art, particularly in the areas of decorative art, painting, and sculpture. This mission is exemplified in the exhibition records.

1937-1940

Richard Raseman

February 1941-September 1942

Richard Davis

1943-1944

Mary DeWolf

1944-March 1948

Harriet Dyer Adams

March 1948-March 1949

Esther Skinner Sperry

1949-1954

Eva Ingersoll Gatling

1955-February 1957

Margot Cramer (Curator of the Galleries)

1956-1969

Wally Mitchell (Head of Galleries)

1962-1966

Mary Riordan (Gallery Assistant)

1963 – 1969

John Peterson (Gallery Assistant)

1969-1970

Kathleen McCullough