DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

The DIA is a true jewel, an immense pride for Detroiters and a must-see for visitors. Originally located on Jefferson Avenue when it opened in 1885, the museum soon moved to Woodward Avenue, in a building designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret. Its Beaux-Arts style and ubiquitous marble quickly earned it the nickname Temple of Art. Two additional wings were added in the 1960s and 1970s, and major renovations and expansion took place from 1999 to 2007. Spanning the history of art from prehistory to the present, the DIA holds one of the six largest collections in the United States, estimated to be worth more than $8.5 billion and comprising over 65,000 works and artifacts. In addition to exhibition space that spans more than 61,000 square feet in 100 galleries, the museum also features an auditorium that seats up to 1,150 people, a 380-seat reading/recital room, a specialized art library, and a state-of-the-art conservation services laboratory. The DIA holds a spectacular collection of American, European, modern, contemporary, and graphic art, as well as significant works of African, Asian, Native American, Oceanic, and Muslim art, and ancient art. Its most famous commissions and acquisitions are certainly Vincent Van Gogh's self-portrait, the first painting by the painter to enter an American collection, and Diego Rivera's magnificent series of frescoes, Detroit Industry, which illuminates the Great Hall. The centerpiece of the museum, it is composed of 27 panels covering the four walls of the hall, the two largest of which are nearly 14 meters long by 5 meters high. Painted between 1932 and 1933 and financed by the Ford factories, the frescoes represent the workers of the automobile industry at the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge plant as well as the scientific advances of the time, particularly in medicine and new technologies. It is interesting to note that this committed artist planted a few hints of protest in his work and that it was the subject of great controversy when it was unveiled in 1933. However, this did not stop Diego Rivera from considering these murals as his greatest artistic achievement.