Detroit Institute of Arts

Detroit Institute of Arts
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Established1885; 139 years ago (1885)
Location5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°21′33.912″N 83°3′52.474″W / 42.35942000°N 83.06457611°W / 42.35942000; -83.06457611
TypeArt museum
Collection size65,000 works[1]
Visitors677,500 (2015)[1]
DirectorSalvador Salort-Pons
Public transit accessQLINE: Warren / Ferry
DDOT, SMART
Websitewww.dia.org
Detroit Institute of Arts
Built1927
ArchitectPaul Philippe Cret
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance
Restored2007
Restored byMichael Graves
Part ofCultural Center Historic District (Detroit) (ID83003791)
Designated CPNovember 21, 1983

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers 658,000 square feet (61,100 m2)[2][3] with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added 58,000 square feet (5,400 m2). The DIA collection is regarded as among the top six museums in the United States with an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to contemporary art.[2] Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion USD according to a 2014 appraisal.[4][5] The DIA campus is located in Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the downtown area, across from the Detroit Public Library near Wayne State University.

The museum building is highly regarded by architects.[6] The original building, designed by Paul Philippe Cret, is flanked by north and south wings with the white marble as the main exterior material for the entire structure. The campus is part of the city's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum's first painting was donated in 1883 and its collection consists of over 65,000 works. With about 677,500 visitors annually for 2015, the DIA is among the most visited art museums in the world.[1][7] The Detroit Institute of Arts hosts major art exhibitions; it contains a 1,150-seat theatre designed by architect C. Howard Crane, a 380-seat hall for recitals and lectures, an art reference library, and a conservation services laboratory.[1]

In 2023, readers of USA Today voted the Detroit Institute of Arts the No. 1 art museum in the United States.[8]

  1. ^ a b c d "Museum Fact Sheet — The Detroit Institute of Arts". Detroit Institute of Arts. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "About the DIA". Detroit Institute of Arts. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  3. ^ "DIA's collection has national luster". The Detroit News. November 6, 2007. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTappraisal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gibson1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ AIA Detroit Urban Priorities Committee (January 10, 2006). "Look Inside: Top 10 Detroit Interiors". Model D Media. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "Visitor Figures 2013: Museum and exhibition attendance numbers compiled and analysed" (PDF). The Art Newspaper, International Edition. April 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  8. ^ Amber Gibson (February 24, 2023). "10 best art museums in the US". USA Today. Retrieved October 2, 2023.