Brauer Museum of Art reopens

The Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University has ended its two-year hiatus and reopened its doors to the public with new exhibitions and new leadership under director Jonathan Canning.

“We are delighted to welcome Jonathan to campus,” said Provost Eric Johnson. “We look forward to the fruits of his collaborations with constituencies across the university and across the region.”

Canning is a graduate of London’s Courtauld Institute of Art, the University of Delaware and Columbia University. He comes to Valpo from upstate New York where he served the Hyde Collection as director of curatorial affairs and public programming, and also served as senior curation of the Martin D’Arcy, SJ Collection at the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago.

“The university and our supporters across the region have eagerly awaited the museum’s reopening. I am delighted to welcome them back with an installation of 130 pieces,” said Canning.

The Brauer Museum of Art holds more than 5,000 pieces of American art from the mid-19th Century to today in its permanent collection, including the largest known collection of the work of Chicago artist Junius R. Sloan.

“Junius Sloan spent time in upstate New York and painted landscape of the Hudson River,” said Canning. “Here I was walking through the collection when I was interviewing for this position, seeing examples of artists that I had been learning about in my current job, and seeing landscape that I was familiar with while living in upstate New York myself.”

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Sloan family gift, the museum has published a collection book, showing 121 works. It was a 3-year project of the faculty and staff, and was printed and arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is now available this year.

Canning has already familiarized himself with the collection and has already welcomed groups into the museum, and is looking forward to more visitors. He is also working on creating a wellness room, where visitors can sit at drawing stations, lounge in a comfortable chair, or play simple art games.

“Coming soon will be an exhibition of art influenced by the comic strip,” said Canning.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Admission is free for all, but donations are encouraged. The museum is closed in alignment with holiday breaks at Valparaiso University.

For more information and to plan a visit, go to valpo. edu/brauer-museum-of-art