The museum shop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art reopened two years ago as the Store at Mia. The selection is now more carefully curated, in keeping with the overall ethos of a museum, and isn’t limited to books, postcards, and other materials directly linked to exhibitions or the collection. Many of the items are handmade as artfully as anything in the galleries.
This isn’t new. It’s a return to the museum shop’s earlier incarnation as a kind of retail gallery. This photo was taken around 1965, before the modernist Tange addition to the museum, though the cabinets and furniture reflect a sleek, contemporary look. The cases, like those in the galleries, are full of figurines, statuettes, and jewelry.
The museum shop around 1965.
Museums were booming in the post-war era, with attendance across the country soaring from 100 million visits in 1953 to 560 million in 1967. And so was mass consumption. Museums weren’t seeking to cash in so much as meet demand—their modest information desks, where postcards and prints were sold, were overwhelmed. “Commerce is thriving in the hallowed halls of the nation’s art temples,” the New York Times said in 1974. Then, as now, distinctive goods cut through the retail clutter.
This week, Mia blends art and commerce with a Black Friday event: free admission to “Delacroix’s Influence: The Rise of Modern Art from van Gogh to Cezanne” from 6 to 10 a.m. and 20 percent off everything in the store from 6 to 8 a.m. And in the tradition of carefully curated goods, the store will introduce limited edition blankets and scarves from Faribault Woolen Mills.