Detroit Institute of Arts
An encyclopedic museum whose Rivera courtyard murals survived a bankruptcy that nearly forced the collection to be sold.
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The museum bought Van Gogh's self-portrait in 1922, the first Van Gogh to enter an American public collection, and its holdings run wide from there. The centrepiece is Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals, twenty-seven panels covering all four walls of the garden court, painted in 1932 and 1933 after Rivera spent months in the Ford Rouge plant; Edsel Ford commissioned them and defended them publicly when they were attacked as blasphemous and communist. When Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013, creditors pushed to sell the collection, which the city owned outright; the grand bargain of 2014 - foundations, the state and museum donors putting up money for pensions - transferred the art to a trust and ended the threat.
What you actually see
- Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals - twenty-seven panels round the court.
- The first Van Gogh in an American public collection - bought 1922.
- An encyclopedic collection - across cultures and periods.
- A collection nearly sold in 2013 - saved by the grand bargain.
When to go
Year round; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Free entry applies only to residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Special exhibitions cost extra. Some galleries rotate closed. Midtown parking is paid.
Nearby
The Michigan Science Center and the main library are adjacent.
What to pack for Detroit Institute of Arts
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.