Omaha Exploration

Previously we explored George and Sarah’s residence, Lynhurst, which is commonly known as Joslyn Castle. Today we explore the monument that Sarah built for George.

Sarah looked for ways to both honor her husband and to offer a gift to the people of Omaha. With that she purchased six lots along Dodge Street from 22nd to 24th in 1921. Afterwards she announced her intention to build the Joslyn Museum. To design the structure, she hired two architects she was very familiar with – John and Alan McDonald who, years earlier, designed their residence.

To help pay for it and the Society for Liberal Arts which Sarah founded and task with operating the memorial, she sold her stake in her husband’s business, the Western Newspaper Union to its employees for $5M in 1928. When the Joslyn Memorial opened its doors to the public in 1931, it fully displayed the couples love of the arts and would go on to become the premier art institution in not just Omaha but the entire State of Nebraska.

Located at 24th and Dodge Streets, the large Art Deco structure was made from Georgia pink marble and 38 other types of marble from across the world. The decorative panels on the exterior referred to the people of the plains including both Native Americans and European settlers. 

Inside it included a concert hall, lecture hall, art library, classrooms, an atrium with a fountain and several art galleries. It was meant to uplift and benefit the greatest number of people possible at no cost. Much of the museum’s collection came from individual collectors as well as the Art Institute of Omaha and the Friends of Art, Omaha’s two main art societies. 

In 1938 it was listed as one of the 100 finest buildings in the United States. When Sarah passed away in 1940, she turned the building and society over to its trustees. She also left an endowment allowing the art museum portion of the memorial to expand its collection even further.

Free admission continued until 1965 when it cost 25 cents per person. By the 1960s the museum was running out of space though it wasn’t until 1987 that they did a land swap with Central High School to acquire land that allowed for a sculpture garden and additional parking. In exchange the high school gained land that allowed for the construction of its football field. By 1987 the memorial changed its name to the one we recognize today – Joslyn Art Museum.

The first addition to the museum was built in 1994 and was designed such that it matched the original building even using pink Georgian marble from the same quarry as the rest of the building. The expansion included the addition of modern art, galleries for visiting works of art, a cafe, kitchen, offices, storage space, classrooms and a glass atrium that connected the new addition. In 2008 the sculpture garden was reworked and a reflection pool and waterfall. In 2013 it reverted back to free admission due to a donation from the Sherwood Foundation.

Joslyn’s attended increased nearly 60% after that when over 190,000 people from all 50 states and countries around the world visited the museum over the decade. The museum closed in 2022 for another addition that added an additional 40,000 sq ft. Designed by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture and Snøhetta, this time the exterior purposely did not match the rest of the structure and instead resembled a cloud-like form blowing past the structures. Inside the additional space allowed for a new entrance as well as additional gallery space, classrooms, gift shop and community spaces. It also offered the opportunity to revamp of the garden and other outdoor spaces. The design earned it the 2024 Laurels Award from Omaha by Design which recognizes organizations that contribute to urban design and policy.

Today Joslyn is the largest art museum in Nebraska. Its collection includes over 12,000 objects representing over 5,000 years of human creativity among the world’s diverse cultures. It is also one of the few museums in the U.S. that has fully integrated Native American Art into its other galleries. Until recently Native art was treated as thought it was somehow inferior as it wasn’t painted on canvas but a buffalo robe. In addition to its Native art, the Joslyn has permanent collections that includes American art in addition to Ancient, European, Latin American, Asian along with Postwar and Contemporary.

November 2024 Omaha Exploration photo of the new addition to the Joslyn Art Museum.

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