. . . the MIT Collection should represent in art what MIT represents in science. It should be contemporaneous and courageous. . . . It should demonstrate that MIT is part of the modern world and conscious of the forces that stir it . . .

—Former MIT President Julius Stratton, 1961

The List Visual Arts Center oversees MIT's Permanent Collection, which is comprised of more than 1,500 artworks in primarily painting, sculpture, photography, and print media. This collection is designed to enhance the visual environment of the campus, to increase the aesthetic awareness of both the MIT community and the larger public, and to support teaching and research in the visual arts. The collections distinguish themselves from conventional museum holdings not only by the focus on contemporary art, but also by public visibility. The Institute itself has become the museum, with works of art sited either outdoors or in offices, lobbies, libraries, corridors, and conference rooms, thus becoming integrated into daily life and working situations of those affiliated with MIT and of MIT's many visitor populations— visiting scholars, students, parents, alumni, and friends.

While the first permanently installed works of art at MIT were the decorative murals painted in 1924 and 1930 by Edwin H. Blashfield for the Walker Memorial (Building 50), MIT did not begin actively collecting and exhibiting art until decades later. At that time, former MIT president James Killian, with former Director of Libraries and later, Dean of Humanities and Social Studies, John Burchard, provided the impetus for the establishment of a visual arts program on campus. Killian described his position toward the arts as follows:

The great universities have long sought to achieve an environment where distinguished art, architecture, and landscaping are not just embellishments or luxuries, but are an essential and natural part of the process of education and growth . . . . Just as students seek out the foremost in science and engineering they shouldhave the opportunity to engage and come to understand the best in the arts.

This new policy toward the visual arts came to fruition with the opening, in 1950, of the Hayden Gallery (in the space which is today a recital room near the entrance of the Hayden Library), which also marked the opening of the Charles Hayden Memorial Library. As Director of Libraries, Burchard played an instrumental role in setting aside space in the new library building for a visual arts gallery and raising funds for a program of changing exhibitions, which remains the model for the program of changing exhibitions at the List Visual Arts Center (so named for a generous gift from Vera and Albert List).

In 1951, the Permanent Collection was established with a gift from the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey of 26 paintings and drawings. As there was no museum or gallery space for the permanent display of artworks, the decision was made to exhibit the works throughout the campus, in offices, hallways, and other public spaces, setting the precedent for the way the Permanent Collection is sited today.

MIT faculty and staff: To find out more about the Permanent Collection and the selection of art for MIT administrative and faculty offices, contact List Visual Arts Center registrar John Rexine at 253-6633 or rexine@mit.edu.

View current project, The evolving MIT Campus.

Alexander Calder
La Grande Voile, 1965
painted steel, H: 40 feet
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott
McDermott Court