History
Founding
From the moment the Walker Art Center opened on January 4, 1940, it was more than an art museum; it was a place to learn, gather, explore, and create in community. On opening night visitors experienced an array of works from the eclectic collection of Thomas Barlow (T. B.) Walker, observed artists sculpting and painting onsite, while a team of radio announcers from WCCO captured the event for those listening at home. Today, the Walker is a world-renowned contemporary arts center providing a variety of arts and educational experiences in a welcoming environment.
Long before the Walker Art Center’s doors opened in 1940, T. B. Walker sought to provide the community with a center for the arts and sciences. Walker, a business magnate whose many ventures included lumber companies in Minnesota and California, began collecting art in the 1860s. He opened the Walker Art Gallery on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis in 1879; often cited as the first public art gallery west of the Mississippi River, it included paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and jades. In 1916, he purchased land south of downtown Minneapolis. Three years later, he offered the site and his art collection to the City of Minneapolis with the stipulation that a public building with an art gallery, library, and science center be built. After five years of negotiations, Walker withdrew his offer and opened the Walker Art Galleries in 1927, on the present site of the Walker Art Center. Before Walker died in 1928, he established a private foundation to keep the art gallery open.
In 1938, with the support of the Walker family, the Minnesota Arts Council (MAC), and the citizens of Minneapolis, the transformation from gallery to art center began. MAC, a precursor to the Minnesota State Arts Board, approached the Walker family with a proposal to use the art gallery for exhibitions of contemporary Minnesota artists. With additional financial support from the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration in 1939, and a public petition to Minneapolitans, MAC raised enough money to renovate the art galleries and open an art school, providing classes for children and adults.
Completing the transformation, the Walker began to collect contemporary art in the 1940s. With continued support from the Walker family, early acquisitions included artworks by Franz Marc, I. Rice Pereira, and Edward Hopper. From that moment on, the Walker Art Center has focused on collecting contemporary artwork. At the same time, performing arts, film, and education programs grew proportionately and gained their own national prominence.
Building/Campus
With the growth of collections and programming, the Walker Art Center opened a new building in 1971. Designed by reknowned architect, Edward Larrabee Barnes, and known as the Barnes building, it contains large open spaces to accommodate artists at work, installation art, and artwork of all sizes. The brick Barnes building is also home to the Cinema, featuring films from around the globe. The Cinema was also used for music, dance, theater, and spoken-word events for many years.
Adjacent to the Walker Art Center is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Opened in 1988, the Garden is a unique public-private collaboration between the museum and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Showcasing works from the Walker’s collection, this urban park features more than 60 public sculptures on 11 acres, including Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Spoonbridge and Cherry (1985–1988), a beloved symbol of Minneapolis. The Siah Armajani Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge (1988) spans 16 lanes of traffic and connects the Garden to Loring Park, providing a scenic walkway for foot and bicycle traffic. The Garden is free and open to the public 365 days a year.
In 2005, the Walker increased its indoor and outdoor facilities to enhance the artistic, educational, and social experiences for visitors, adding to its existing 1971 building. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning Swiss architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron, this major expansion included the McGuire Theater, more gallery spaces, terraces and plazas, and underground parking, among other features. In 2017, the museum opened the Wurtele Upper Garden on the hillside next to the building. With sculptures from the collection, accessible pathways, and groves of trees, this greenspace also serves as an outdoor venue for performances, screenings, and educational events.
Today, the Walker Art Center is both a global leader in the contemporary art field and a cultural anchor in the Twin Cities. A place for all to explore a variety of arts and educational activities, the Walker offers visitors and audiences experiences that ignite curiosity and creativity while deepening appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art and culture.
Land Acknowledgment
The Walker Art Center is located on the contemporary, traditional, and ancestral homelands of the Dakota people. This site, which was once an expanse of marshland and meadow, holds meaning for Dakota, Ojibwe, and Indigenous people from other Native nations, who still live in the community today.