Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences Records

What is now considered the Brooklyn Museum was founded on August 7, 1823 as the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library (BAL). The BAL was the first public library in Brooklyn. The BAL wanted to provide educational materials to local youths, and apprentices. The founders believed in the power of education as a moral good. Utilizing memberships and capital campaigns, the founders raised money to purchase a plot of land and build a permanent buidling to house the library. On July 4, 1825 General Layfayette placed the cornerstone at the southwest corner of Henry and Cranberry Streets in what is now Brooklyn Heights. The new building was completed in 1825. In 1828 members of the BAL broke off the create the Brooklyn City Library which operated as a completely free public library. Due to financial struggles and decreasing memberships, the BAL was forced to sell its building to city of Brooklyn, and from 1835-1840 it frequently moved locations between its original building and the Brooklyn Lyceum. In 1835 Walt Whitman served as Librarian to the BAL.

In 1843 the BAL merged with the Brooklyn Lyceum to become the Brooklyn Institute (BI). It later absorbed the collections and members of the Brooklyn City Library which was also housed at the Brooklyn Lyceum building. The Institute continued the mission of educating youths and adults by providing access to books and periodicals. However, the Brooklyn Institute also began to collect natural history collections for study and display, to exhibit art, and to sponsor a robust lecture series. This was in large part thanks to founder and Institute president Augustus Graham's bequest.

Following an incorporation in 1870 and a reincorporation in 1890, the Institute shifted its focus slightly and renamed itself to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS). The focus of the BIAS was to provide museums, gardens, and research spaces for both arts and science education as well as appreciation. The Institute acted as an umbrella organization for the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, and Biological Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor in Long Island. In 1936, the Institute let go of control over the Lab and acquired the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Additionally, the Institute had subject based Departments that held meetings, gave lectures, and sponsored small exhibitions. The Department of Photography, for example, was founded between 1888 and 1889. Members met 1-2 times a month, and if they paid membership dues, they also gained access to dark rooms and could submit work to be considered for an annual exhibition.

In the mid 1960s and 1970s, the Institute's committees began meeting to redefine the role of the Institute for its children organizations. It was decided that BAM, the Children's Museum, and the Botanical Gardens would become seperate entities. In 1980, the Institute changed its name to the Brooklyn Museum.

1823-1831

Robert Snow (?-1833)

1832-1838

Fanning C. Tucker (?-1856)

1840-1851

Augustus Graham (1776-1851)

1852-1853

Charles M. Olcott

1854-1857

Rollin Sandford

1858-1870

Peter G. Taylor

1870-1878

William Everdell

1879-1887

Jesse C. Smith

1889-1895

General John B. Woodward

1895-1920

A. Augustus Healy

1920-1928

Frank L. Babbott

1928-1938

Edward C. Blum

1939-1942

James MacDonald

1942-1950

Adrian Van Sinderen

1950-1955

Robert E. Blum

1959-1970

Francis T. Christy

1970-1979

James Q. Riordan