Albright-Knox history

January 1891: The Print Department of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy is established through generous gifts from Frederick H. James and Willis O. Chapin.

In 1896, a redecoration Buffalo Fine Arts Academy’s exhibition space occurred and it also received electricity.

Trace the evolution of the museum’s campus, from groundbreaking for its first permanent home in spring 1900, to our current AK360 Campus Development and Expansion Project.

It was dedicated on May 31, 1905, and named the Albright Art Gallery. It was intended to serve as the Fine Arts Pavilion of the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, but construction was delayed.

The first exhibition held at Albright Art Gallery was on view from May 31 until July 1, 1905.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens's Eight Caryatid Figures, 1906–07

The first artwork purchased with these funds is Charles Webster Hawthorne’s The Family, 1911.

April 1912: The Friends of the Albright Art Gallery Fund is established, with annual member contributions going toward the purchase of works of art.

In 1919, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences sought to build a museum on Elmwood Avenue, next to the Albright Art Gallery.

Clifton Hall, the third building on the museum’s campus, was constructed in 1920 as the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.

January 1926: Board Vice-President A. Conger Goodyear establishes the Fellows for Life Fund, with annual patron contributions going toward the purchase of modern art.

In 1927, BFAA Board Member Colonel Charles Clifton donated funds to renovate the abandoned Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences building on Elmwood Avenue for the Albright Art School.

The remodeled building was named Clifton Hall in his honor and opened for art classes in 1929.

A reference art library opens to the public in 1933.

In 1938, a new wing was added to Clifton Hall, which then housed the Albright Art School, offering more space for more classes.

January 1939: Board President Seymour H. Knox, Jr., and the Knox Family provide the funds to establish The Room of Contemporary Art, a semi-autonomous exhibition space within the museum that showcased some of the most radical art of the time.

The museum’s new Members’ Room opened at the preview of an exhibition on April 14, 1944.

Plans for second addition to Clifton Hall, 1945

A special Building Committee was appointed by Seymour H. Knox, Jr., President of the BFAA, on November 3, 1955.

In the museum’s 1956 Annual Report, Director Gordon M. Smith called attention to the inadequacy of the museum’s current building and the urgent need for renovation and expansion.

On October 3, 1957, news came that the city Parks Department would design a 144 car lot between the gallery and Elmwood Avenue.

The BFAA Board of Directors, signed a contract with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill on July 15, 1959.

No public funds appeared and, on June 10, 1960, the Seymour Knox Foundation donated $1,400,000 towards the planned $1,700,000 construction costs.

On May, 17, 1961, the stairs were removed from the Elmwood side and a retaining wall erected; the grand entrance from Elmwood was erased by the new parking lot.

Made possible with major donations from Seymour H. Knox, Jr. and his family, and hundreds of other contributors, the new addition was dedicated in 1962, and the museum was renamed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

The OMA team and Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director Doctor Janne Sirén with Robert Indiana's LOVE (Red Blue Green), 1966–98. © Morgan Art Foundation Ltd / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

The building reopened to the public on May 22, 1992.

In January 1998, the museum received $2 million in federal funding appropriation to be used for the repair and rehabilitation of the buildings.

The F. Paul Norton and Frederic P. Norton Family Prints and Drawings Study Center is dedicated on August 7, 1999.

In 2001, the Albright-Knox began exploring possibilities for growth.

2002 Photos - West Elevation (Elmwood Avenue)

Building up on the 21st Century Space Study, the Vision for Growth further explored possibilities for growth in 2006.

March 2007: The Albright-Knox deaccessions 207 works of art that lay outside of its mission to collect the art of its time, allowing the museum to grow its acquisition endowment from $22 million to $93 million and enabling the ongoing purchase of works in line with its mission.

In 2008, the BFAA Building Committee developed a Campus Master Plan, a Land-Use History, and a Museum Operating Financial Model to assist in the hiring of an architectural firm to design a new addition.

2009 Photos - West Elevation (Elmwood Avenue)

In 2010, Gluckman Mayner Architects developed a Master Plan for Growth that addressed space needs and options for expansion.

In 2012–13, the architectural firm Snøhetta produced a Master Plan for Growth that proposed several approaches to expansion.

The Albright-Knox launched its current AK360 Campus Development and Expansion Project during the Annual Meeting of the membership on October 1, 2014.

2015 Photos - Nancy Rubins, Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Monochrome I, Built to Live Anywhere, at Home Here

On March 2, 2016, the museum announced its intention to select an architectural design partner for an expansion at its Elmwood Avenue campus.

In 2020, after much spirited discussion, a major addition to the Albright_Knox has begun construction.

Hervé Tullet: Shape and Color June 26–September 12, 2021