Art collectors began not only to acquire ancient Greek and Roman art objects and relics of the Middle Ages but also to patronize works by contemporary artists. These collections became, in some cases, the foundations of today's most famous museums. For example, the power-fill Medici family of Florence amassed a vast collection of ancient and modern works of art. These collections formed the basis of, among other museum, the Uffizi Gallery, one of the richest repositories of art in the world. Hundreds of private collections originated throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, as in the Renaissance period, almost all collections were private, and the public had limited access to them. A notable exception was tile collection of Elias Ashmole in England, which became (1683) the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the first university museum. Sir Hans Sloane bequeathed, seventy years later, the collection to the nation. Resulting in the establishment of the first museum organized as a public institution, the British Museum.

Beginning in the late 18th century, a number of public art museums began. They were formed principally of royal or princely collections that either came under public control as the result of political changes or were voluntarily donated to the nation. The principle of public control over art and art collections was firmly established in France during the Revolution, when the royal collection was nationalized (1793) and opened to the public as the Louvre Museum. Inspired by the creation of the Louvre, King Frederick William III of Prussia declared his collection public in 1797, leading to the establishment of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin. In 1809 the Brera Picture Gallery, Milan (originally the collection of the Accademia di Belle Arti), opened to the public. The National Gallery London, one of the few major European museums not originating from a royal collection, began in l824. In 1852 the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, containing the tsar's private art collection, opened to public view on a regular basis.

In the second half of the 19th century a number of specialized museums were created in Europe. The Bavarian National Museum (l855), Munich, devoted almost exclusively to the fine and applied arts of South Germany, and the Museum of Ornamental Art, London (1852). Renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1899, originally established to display and encourage modern handicrafts. The first museums to be established as public institutions in the United States were the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1870), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (1872), followed (1879) by the Art Institute of Chicago, which originated as an art school and museum.

Since 1900 major trends in art museums have included the attempted reform and expansion of large institutions and the creation of a multitude of specialized museums, many of which are devoted to modern art. In recent years a number of the world's largest museums have attempted to reduce the size and refine the quality of their collections by selling less important works of art and concentrating available funds on acquiring works of greater artistic merit or historical significance. Some have also embarked on vast programs of expansion, such as the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., which opened (1978) a new wing designed by I. M. Pei. Major museums devoted entirely to modern art include the Museum of Modern Art, New York City (1929); the Gallery of the Twentieth Century, West Berlin (1949); and the Beaubourg Paris (1977), home to the National Museum of Modern Art. The latest addition to Paris' magnificent museum collection is the MuseeD'Orsay, reconstructed in 1986 from the old railroad station, the Gare d'Orsay, and housing thousands of pieces of art and artifacts from the last half of the 19th century.

(William Olander on CompuServe download)

Bibliography: American Association of Museums, Museums for a New Century (1984); Hudson, Kenneth, and Nicholls, Ann, The Cambridge Guide to the Museums of Europe (1991); Lincoln University, Great French Paintings from the Barnes Foundation (1993); Montaner, Joseph M., New Museums (1990); Montaner, Joseph M., and Oliveras, Jordi, The Museums of the Last Generation (1986); Weil, Stephen E., Beauty and the Beasts: On Museums, Art, the Law, and the Market (1983).