Albert E. Hise Fine and Decorative Arts Gallery now open

The new Albert E. Hise Fine and Decorative Arts Gallery on the second floor of the Massillon Museum opened Friday, June 26, displaying some of the highlights of the museum’s permanent collection.

A set of opalescent gold-colored Louis Comfort Tiffany favrile glass goblets created in 1885 shares a case with glass whimsies — creative shapes made from leftover glass at the end of the day in local bottle-blowing companies during the same era.

One of the museum’s prized possessions, “California Woods,” an oil painting on canvas painted in 1869 by Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847-1919), can be seen in the gallery. Blakelock was a New York romanticist painter lauded for his landscape paintings.

Also among the paintings in the gallery are a 1978 watercolor, “City’s Glow,” by Viktor Schreckengost (1906-2008), an industrial designer, teacher, sculptor and artist in Cleveland, as well as an untitled 1933 oil painting by revered Youngstown artist Clyde Singer (1908-99).

Two sculptures in the gallery are “Winter Noon,” bronze horses created in 1936 Oby Anna Hyatt Huntington (1875-1973), one of the most prominent New York City sculptors of her era, and “Eve,” sandstone folk art by Ohioan Popeye Reed (1919-85), who became posthumously renowned for his artwork.

The new gallery is named in memory of the museum’s longtime curator Albert E. Hise (1901-85), whose priority was collecting examples of outstanding American artwork, frequently by developing relationships with leading artists and often at his own expense, purchasing decorative arts for the permanent collection.

The gallery, part of the MassMuX2 expansion, which increased exhibition space by 47%, will allow the museum to rotate rarely seen works of art in the permanent collection into the space for public view.

“It is a beautiful feeling to walk into the renovated galleries and see longtime favorites return to exhibit, like the Tiffany glass goblets, alongside paintings and drawings acquired more recently from artists like John Carlson, Marcy Axelband and Erica Meuser,” Massillon Museum executive director Alexandra Nicholis Coon said. “We have organized the galleries into broad themes like ‘Fine and Decorative Arts’ to remind people just how varied our collection is and what capacity it has for initiating diverse conversations. It is comforting to see Albert Hise’s name attached to the space that carries the legacy he initiated at the museum so many decades ago. We are grateful for the support of Wanda Miller helping us to honor his invaluable contributions to the Massillon Museum.”

Visitors also can see “Cut Up/Cut Out,” sponsored by Greif Paper Mill of Massillon, in the Aultman Health Foundation Gallery; the new Massillon History Gallery; a new and expanded photography gallery; “36days” by Paul Flippen in the Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery; “Paul Brown’s Pro Teams: A History of the Browns and the Bengals,” “Massillon’s Gridirons,” and the “Paul Brown and Massillon Tiger History Timeline” in the Paul Brown Museum; and the “Immel Circus.”

The Massillon Museum has carefully planned and prepared for safe visits to the building. Visitors are strongly encouraged to wear masks and distance themselves from others. Precautions and guidelines are posted on the museum’s website for guests to review before they visit. Signage and sanitizing stations are located throughout the building.

Regular museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 2-5 p.m.

MassMu is located at 121 Lincoln Way E. in downtown Massillon. A visit is always free. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots. For more information call 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.