Website: https://thehartatbelmont.com/
The Frederick Hart Studio Museum at Belmont University is an art museum in Nashville, Tennessee, dedicated to the work of American figurative sculptor Frederick Hart (1943-1999). The museum opened on March 28, 2019, and is located inside the Lila D. Bunch Library on the Belmont University campus. It recreates the sculptor’s working studio and houses what the website describes as the largest permanent public collection of Hart’s works, along with the archival repository for his books and papers.
Services
The museum offers guided viewing of Frederick Hart’s sculptures in various stages of development, allowing visitors to follow his creative process. The collection includes plaster models, clay maquettes, bronze sculptures, designs in multiple mediums, and extensive acrylic resin pieces that demonstrate Hart’s “sculpting with light” technique. Also on display are Hart’s books, photographs, and personal papers.
Notable works represented in the collection include the Creation Sculptures from the Washington National Cathedral, Three Soldiers from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Ex Nihilo (Working Model) in cast marble installed on the Chapel’s south exterior wall, the life-size bronze Christ Rising, and The Cross of the Millennium. Free parking is available on the street and in designated visitor lots.
About
The museum recreates Hart’s working studio from Hume, Virginia, where he worked from 1987 to 1999. More than 250 works were donated by Bob Chase, Hart’s publisher and president of the Frederick Hart Foundation, and by Lindy Lain Hart, the sculptor’s wife, with additional bronzes donated by patrons Lee and Pam Kennedy of Sarasota, Florida.
Frederick Hart was called “America’s greatest sculptor” by author Tom Wolfe and received the National Medal of Arts in 2004 in the first posthumous presentation of that award. Pope John Paul II described The Cross of the Millennium as a “profound theological statement.” The Frederick Hart Foundation, formed in 2010, works to preserve Hart’s ideals regarding the role of figurative art in contemporary culture and society.
Location & Contact
The museum is located at 1907 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212, inside the Lila D. Bunch Library on the Belmont University campus. The phone number is 615.460.6984.
Hours of operation are Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 4:30 pm, with the last ticket sold at 4 pm. The museum is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Additional Information
Admission is $5 for adults and youth ages 13 and older, free for youth 12 and under, and free for Belmont University students, faculty, and staff with identification. Tickets may be purchased online through the museum’s ticketing link. The website includes Home, About, Visit, Gallery, and Events sections.
Profile compiled from the company’s official website (thehartatbelmont.com).