North Carolina’s First Art Museum

1913-1919

The U.S. Assay office closes permanently in 1913. Remodeled in 1914, the building functions variously as a federal courthouse, wartime Red Cross headquarters, U.S. Army office, recruitment office for the Army, Navy, and Marines, Employment Bureau office, Hornet’s Nest Post No. 9 American Legion headquarters, temporary U.S. Customs branch office, prohibition headquarters, and a meeting place for The Charlotte Woman’s Club, American War Mothers, Women’s Auxiliary of the American Legion, and other organizations from 1915 to 1930.

1930

A planned expansion of the U.S. Post Office on the adjoining lot threatens the building with demolition. Community protests stall the demolition for three years.

1933

Mary Myers Dwelle leads a small group of citizens to save the Mint building and establish an art museum. From 1933 to 1936, the group receives funding from the North Carolina Civil Works Administration, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration for the relocation and reconstruction of the historic U.S. Mint building.

1954

Dorothy Masterson establishes the Mint Museum Drama Guild and the Golden Circle Theatre and serves as Artistic Director until 1977. The Drama Guild is part of what becomes the museum’s Performing Arts Department (1975-1984).

1956

The Women’s Auxiliary is organized by Mrs. Harcourt T. Cosby. This group of dedicated community volunteers has a long and celebrated history. Known today as the Mint Museum Auxiliary, it continues to raise funds for the museum to support educational projects and acquisitions for the Mint’s permanent collection.

1960

Jacqueline Crutchfield establishes the Queen’s Mintkins, a group that builds puppets, creates and performs puppet shows in the main gallery.

1968

The newly constructed Delhom Wing opens, housing the Mint’s historic pottery and porcelain collection, a theater for public programs, and a puppet theater. The museum’s purchase of this 2,000-piece collection and research library from M. Mellanay Delhom draws national and international attention to the Mint.

Francis and Lily Robicsek make their first gift to the Art of Ancient Americas Collection.

1972

The Costume Collection is founded by three members of Woman’s Auxiliary, Lillian Crosland, Hannah Withers, and Ruth Lucas. It will be the foundation for the Mint’s current Fashion Collection.

1975

The Delhom Service League is organized by M. Mellanay Delhom to create and develop interest in ceramics by studying potters and their work.

The Performing Arts Department is founded and includes the Mint Museum Drama Guild, Queen’s Mintkins Puppet Theatre, Sunday Concerts, and Kino Film Series. In 1984, this department was discontinued to enable the museum to focus on its art collections.

1976

The Mint Museum Library is dedicated by Mayor Stan Brookshire. Today, the main library, the J.A. Jones Reference Library, and the decorative arts library, the Delhom-Gambrell Reference Library, include more than 19,000 volumes and numerous digital resources.

1980

Romare Bearden 1970-1980, the first major retrospective exhibition of the Charlotte-born artist’s work, is organized by The Mint Museum. After opening in Charlotte, it tours nationally to three venues.

Today, the Mint houses the largest public collection of work by Bearden.

1988-1989

Ramesses the Great: The Pharaoh and His Times attracts over 600,000 visitors and is the impetus for a citywide celebration and collaborative events with Discovery Place, Opera Carolina, the Afro-American Cultural Center, Johnson C. Smith University, and others.

1999

The Mint Museum of Craft + Design opens in the renovated Montaldo’s building in uptown Charlotte. Despite chilly temperatures, eager visitors form a line that wraps around the building.

2004

The museum established a permanent gallery dedicated to presenting works of art by Romare Bearden.

The Mint Museum of Art commissions a major sculptural installation entitled The Illustrious Kites Made in Boxing Styles by noted African American artist Sam Gilliam. It is installed in the atrium at Mint Museum Randolph.

2005

The Delhom Service League launches the first Potters Market Invitational. Featuring the work of North Carolina’s premier potters, this annual event supports the acquisition of ceramics and library materials for the museum. The Mint Museum now runs the Potters Market.

The Romare Bearden Society is organized to support and expand the museum’s permanent collections of contemporary art and craft by African Americans through educational, outreach, and social programs, with a particular focus on the works of Romare Bearden.

2016

Leo Twiggs: Requiem for Mother Emmanuel opens at Mint Museum Randolph. The South Carolina artist conceived of this moving nine-painting series as a response to the tragic events of June 17, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. The Mint Museum is the second institution to display this exhibition after The Johnson Collection in Spartanburg, S.C., where it drew national attention.

2017

Devolar y Detonar (Reveal and Detonate) makes its U.S. debut at The Mint Museum, featuring the work of over 40 contemporary Mexican photographers, as the central exhibition in a community-wide initiative celebrating Mexican photography titled In Focus/Enfoque, which involves many arts and cultural organizations across Charlotte.

2018

The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta opens to large crowds at Mint Museum Randolph and remains open an additional 3 weeks to accommodate the throngs of visitors eager to see the stunning gowns on display. André Leon Talley, Vogue Editor Emeritus and curator of the exhibition, attends the opening celebration and returns in September for a screening of “The Gospel According to André” at Mint Museum Randolph.

2019

The Mint Museum partners with the Southern Tiger Collective to sponsor Charlotte’s first mural slam, Battle Walls. Mint Museum Randolph hosts the first round and the championship. The competitors are Matt Moore, Bret Toukatly, Shane Pierce, and Darion Flemming. Bret Toukatly takes the prize, and his work is later featured in the Mint’s ongoing ConstellationCLT project at Mint Museum Uptown.

Live at the Mint premieres with a conversation between S.C. artist, Dr. Leo Twiggs, and Rabbi July Schindler hosted by Rubie Britt-Height and Dr. Jonathan Stuhlman. The topic is how art can offer a safe space for uncomfortable conversations around race and social justice.

2020

Voice and Vision: Live at the Mint with Opera Carolina is the first collaboration between the Mint Museum and Opera Carolina. Originally planned to be live with an audience, the COVID-19 pandemic forces a creative change that results in virtual presentations by participants in their homes. Curators introduce objects from the Mint’s permanent collection that have been chosen by Opera Carolina singers, providing the story of the piece. The singers then explain their choices and sing musical pieces in response to their chosen objects. The presentation features curators, Dr. Jen Sudul Edwards, Annie Carlano, Brian Gallagher, and Dr. Jonathan Stuhlman, and Opera Carolina singers Dawn Anthony, Sequina DuBose, Andrew René, and Johnathan White.