First Floor
Richard and Rosann Noel Gallery
From the medieval period through the exuberance of the Baroque, the splendors of European art are on display in this first floor gallery in Alumni Memorial Hall. Several pieces, such as the Madonna and Child with St. Thomas Aquinas and a Bishop Saint, by an unknown Umbrian artist around 1475, have long held an important place in UMMA’s teaching mission—and in the affection of visitors. The massively scaled Esther before Ahasuerus is shown with rare preparatory drawings for the painting, offering a glimpse into the creative process of Italian artist Guercino. Elsewhere in the gallery, rarely seen works of decorative art and long-term loans invite visitors to new discoveries.
Marvin H. and Mary M. Davidson Gallery
The elegant proportions and architectural detail of Alumni Memorial Hall’s restored galleries provide an elegant backdrop for works including Rembrandt’s arresting self-portrait Rembrandt in Velvet Cap and Plume, drawn by the artist in 1638. A recent acquisition anchors the gallery: the massive and moving painting The Dead Soldier by English artist Joseph Wright of Derby. Nearby, an exploration of the decorative arts in the 18th century keeps company with probing portraits from England, the Continent, and North America.
Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse
In April 2019, this gallery underwent its first major reinstallation in over a decade. It exchanged Alumni Memorial Hall's previous focus on European and American painting for a broad mix of American, European, African, and Asian art, sampling the Museum's remarkable, disparate holdings. Through various temporary exhibitions, the pieces stand in conversation with one another. Two nearby sculptures—Nydia, by Ann Arbor native and master sculptor Randolph Rogers, and Flora, by James Wyatt—speak to the room’s original role as a statuary hall in the 1920s. Today, the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse is a stunning, iconic space for the Museum, as well as a public venue for live music and social events.
Irving Stenn, Jr. Family Gallery
The Museum's glass-walled temporary exhibition space devoted to cutting-edge contemporary installation art.