The Dishman Art Museum is an art museum on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Admission to the museum is completely free; the gallery is open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday. The museum also serves as a teaching facility in the Art Department at Lamar University. Exhibitions change monthly. The gallery features one-person exhibition of contemporary artists, group exhibitions of contemporary artists, Art Department faculty shows, graduating senior shows, a national competition, artist-in-residency, Grand Bal, and High School Scholarship exhibitions. There are three gallery spaces - Upper Gallery, Lower Gallery, and the Heinz and Ruth Eisenstadt Collection which consists of 150 19th-century paintings and 250 porcelains and objets d'art. The exhibition space totals 6000sqft.HistoryThe museum was established in 1983 through a generous gift from local art patrons and philanthropists Herb and Kate Dishman. Architect Marvin Gordy designed the building with Upper and Lower Gallery exhibition spaces, offices and a lecture hall. To realize the grand scope of this building, further financial support was necessary. The Dishmans presented a challenge grant, asking the community to match their donation. Several members of the community met that challenge permitting the completion of the building. In 2003, the building was officially renamed the Dishman Art Museum to reach a larger audience in the Southeast Texas community.Permanent CollectionsEisenstadt CollectionPaintings: 147 paintings by European and American artists ranging from the seventeenth through the twentieth century.Porcelains: 200 19th- and 20th-century porcelains from Sèvres, France, and Meissen and Dresden, Germany.Objets d’art: enamel, cloisonne, silver and ivory objects.Sculptures: six bronze and one marble 19th-century figurative pieces.Furniture: a 15-piece dining room suite and eight curio cabinets.Carpets: four modern oriental style carpets.
