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Historical Perspective:
The Columbia Museum of Art was opened in 1950. The Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina's international art museum has extensive collection of American and European decorative and fine art spanning several centuries. The museum building has been transformed from a city department store into a light-filled space with 25 galleries. On July 18, 1998 the Columbia Museum of Art was transformed into a new museum at the corner of the Hampton and main streets.
Major Collections:
Among its major collection the museum has a Renaissance and Baroque collection. A gift collection by the Samuel Kress Foundation which focuses on the old masters paintings was specially made by the churches in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries. Some nativity paintings include Madonna and child paintings. There are also some scenes from the old and new testaments, all featured in the upstairs galleries of the museum. The museum with its varied collection of European and American paintings, drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures and decorative arts are present starting from ancient times to the recent ones.
The museum also has a large and rare Nativity fresco collection which was transferred to canvas by a Florentine renaissance artist Sandra Botticelli. The permanent collections of the museum include The Seine at Giverny by Claude Monet and art glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The ranges of decorative arts include objects from 17th to 20th century. The museum has nice collection of some Asian objects from the time of Tang Dynasty. Other collections include Chinese porcelains, silver range of American furniture, contemporary art glass, sculptures and textiles.The museum provides good scope to the local residents and visitors to recognize the great national, international as well as the local art works.
Present Scenario:
At present the Columbia Museum is the largest art museum in South Carolina. The museum remains open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. On Sundays the museum remains open from 1:00 pm to 5 pm and remains closed on every Monday.
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