Admired worldwide, obscure on campus

An army of headless, hollow men loom in front of the Princeton University Art Museum. If visitors manage to sneak past these ominous structures and enter McCormick Hall, however, they will encounter a diverse array of paintings, crafts and historical relics.

Aside from the building's guardians, museum administrators continue to worry that students remain unaware of the building's offerings.

The museum was founded in the 1880s with the mission of exhibiting original works of art. The primary audience of the museum is University students, museum curator Caroline Harris said.

Harris explained that the museum was created without a collection and that the collection has grown to over 68,000 works in fields ranging from ancient Egyptian art to contemporary art.

One of the museum's unique collections is the Pre-Colombian section. It contains many tiny artifacts, pieces of jewelry and tools made of stone, jade and ceramic. One work, "Shaman in Transformation Pose," is a small statue of a shaman with elaborate carvings on his head, from around 600 to 800 B.C.

Meanwhile, the Impressionism and post-Impressionism collections boast original works by Claude Monet, Edouard Manet and Henri Matisse.

Monet's "Waterlilies and Japanese Bridge" depicts a bridge over a cascading stream in green, blue and pink. Manet's "Gypsy with a Cigarette" is a vivid, mysterious painting of a female gypsy leaning against a horse, smoking a cigarette. Matisse's "View of Collioure 1905" is a small but striking piece that illustrates the picturesque landscape of Collioure, a village in Southern France.

One signature piece in the American Art collection is a portrait of George Washington called "Washington at the Battle of Princeton." Charles Willson Peale's portrait of America's first president conveys his impressive stature and his powerful presence while a battle rages in the background.

Harris said that despite the museum's large collection, not enough students take advantage of it. "We struggle with this all the time." But, she added, "it is used for precepts quite a bit."

Brian Brown '07, a work-study manager at the museum gift shop, said that he too considers the museum to be "underutilized."

But Brown said that more undergraduates are aware of the museum's collection than was the case a few years ago. "When I was a freshman, no one even knew about it," he said. "Now students go in there on their own and with precepts."

Harris said that close to 3,000 students visited the museum with classes last year. "We were pleased with that," she said.

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The museum has monthly "After Hours" parties on Friday nights to spark interest in the museum, Harris said. It is an opportunity for members of the community and students to meet the museum's curators and staff.

Brown said it's a way to see the museum's collection in "a fun and party-like environment."

Student Friends of the Museum sponsors events at the museum open only to students. Music and food combined with a talk about art attracted about 450 people to the group's October event. On Feb. 15, the group sponsored a gala that brought in about 300 students.

Harris said the museum functions "as a catalyst for multiple programs across campus." For example, last year's exhibit "The Russian Age of Elegance" spurred many departments to incorporate this specific period in Russian history into their syllabi. The Program in Theater and Dance even showcased a ballet to complement the collection.

Many temporary exhibitions are held during the year, which are funded partly by the museum's endowment fund and partly by corporate sponsors, Harris said. "Pop Art at Princeton: Permanent and Promised" opens on March 24 and is sponsored by Merrill Lynch.