It was 90 years ago on this day -- at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 22, 1935, the Wichita Art Museum opened its doors to the public.
The building overlooking the Little Arkansas River was formally opened and dedicated; the Art Deco structure was designed by Clarence Stein, noted architect of New York City.
The museum began as a visionary gift from Louise Caldwell Murdock, and over the decades has grown into one of the nation’s most significant collections of American art—and a cultural cornerstone for the city of Wichita, with a permanent collection of more than 10,000 artworks.
The Wichita Art Museum is home to the Roland P. Murdock Collection, one of the premier collections of American art.
The bequest of Louise Caldwell Murdock and subsequent establishment of the Roland P. Murdock Collection forms the initial impetus for the museum. Mrs. Murdock’s will, written in 1915, specified that the income from her estate, following the death of her closest relatives, should be used for the purchase of art for the City of Wichita—a collection named in memory of her late husband, Roland, who was the younger brother of Wichita Eagle founder Marshall M. Murdock and business manager of the family-owned newspaper.
From 1939 to 1962, Mrs. Elizabeth Stubblefield Navas, Mrs. Murdock’s friend and business associate, selected works of American art for the museum.