The Yale University Art Gallery is a museum of art in New Haven, Connecticut. It features American paintings, sculpture, photography and works on paper. In addition to its permanent collection, the gallery has two to three special exhibitions mounted each year.
This building was designed by architect Paul Rudolph and completed in 1953. It is located on the Yale University campus and is one of two museums in the country designed by Rudolph (the other being The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles). The building was originally planned as an addition to Harkness Laboratory (now Morse College). However, construction was halted due to budget problems and World War II. The building remained unfinished for seventeen years until it was finally completed in 1960.
The design of the building is unique for its time period because it uses a Brutalist style with exposed concrete walls, which were very uncommon at this time period when most buildings were made from brick or stone. This style is influenced by Rudolph’s interest in Le Corbusier’s work and his love for industrial materials like steel and concrete rather than traditional styles such as Greek Revival or Gothic Revival architecture commonly found at other universities at this time period.
What’s more, this gallery has been expanded twice since its completion, most recently in 1992 when the building was doubled in size by adding two wings to either side of the original building.
