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Quiz about Doing it Detroit Style The DIA
Quiz about Doing it Detroit Style The DIA

Doing it Detroit Style: The DIA Quiz


All about the Detroit Institute of Art.

A multiple-choice quiz by Shadowmyst2004. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
376,105
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
321
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The Detroit Institute of Art is one of the largest museums in the United States. With the expansion and renovations that were completed in 2007, the museum had about how many individual galleries? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The museum was founded by Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner. In which country was he born? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In 1932 Edsel Ford, a member of the board of directors, commissioned Diego Rivera to paint five frescos for the museum. Rivera was married to another famous painter. Who was his wife? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The museum was the first U.S. collection to include a Vincent Van Gogh painting.


Question 5 of 10
5. The Detroit Institute of Art got its first painting in 1883. By 2007, when the museum was completely restored, it had about how many works? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Detroit is known worldwide as the Motor City. During the 1970s, family members connected to two of the three major auto manufacturers in the city donated more than $1 million each to open new displays at the museum. One of the companies was Ford; which was the other? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 2012, the Detroit Institute of Art was dealt a huge blow when the city filed for bankruptcy. Since the city owned the building and had paid for parts of the collection over the previous hundred years, creditors forced the museum to sell nearly $1 billion worth of art.


Question 8 of 10
8. While many art historians ranked the Detroit Institute of Art as one of the world's top 10 collections at the turn of the 21st century, the museum routinely ranked outside of the top ____ in worldwide attendance from 2000 to 2012. (What number fits closest to the missing digits?) Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which character in the 2005 film adaptation "Be Cool" was named after a famous Detroit Institute of Art employee? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Calvin Coolidge was president, William Taft was leading the Supreme Court film studio MGM was founded, the Washington Senators were the World Series champions and the cornerstone was laid for the Detroit Institute of Arts building in what year? Hint





Most Recent Scores
Oct 20 2024 : Fiona112233: 5/10
Sep 07 2024 : bradez: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Detroit Institute of Art is one of the largest museums in the United States. With the expansion and renovations that were completed in 2007, the museum had about how many individual galleries?

Answer: 100

The museum has more than 658,000 square feet of space with more than 100 galleries.

Some of the displays are stagnant, while many of the others rotate various collections in and out.
2. The museum was founded by Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner. In which country was he born?

Answer: Germany

Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. He studied art history at Heidelberg before moving to the U.S. to become a curator at the Metropolitan museum in New York. He fought for Germany in WWI, but returned to the U.S. and became a citizen in 1930.

He helped to found the DIA, and later helped to develop the Los Angeles County Museum and the North Carolina Museum of Art.
3. In 1932 Edsel Ford, a member of the board of directors, commissioned Diego Rivera to paint five frescos for the museum. Rivera was married to another famous painter. Who was his wife?

Answer: Frida Kahlo

In late 2014 the DIA opened a temporary exhibit showing off the works of both Rivera and Kahlo. The five frescos were still a part of the museum's collection at that time.
4. The museum was the first U.S. collection to include a Vincent Van Gogh painting.

Answer: True

Van Gogh's "Self Portrait" was acquired by the museum on Jan. 30 1922. The painting was bought by the museum during an art auction that was selling off a private collection from France.

The painting was made in 1887, three years before the artist died.
5. The Detroit Institute of Art got its first painting in 1883. By 2007, when the museum was completely restored, it had about how many works?

Answer: 60,000

Pieces in the museum's collection range from hundreds of years old, to more modern pieces, and in nearly every medium. Starting in the mid 2000s the museum began to digitize the collection by posting high resolution images that can be looked at for free on its website.
6. Detroit is known worldwide as the Motor City. During the 1970s, family members connected to two of the three major auto manufacturers in the city donated more than $1 million each to open new displays at the museum. One of the companies was Ford; which was the other?

Answer: Dodge

In 1970 Anna Dodge set the precedent for making a huge donation when she willed millions of dollars worth of art from her private collection to the museum. She donated hundreds of pieces of 18th-century French artifacts, which were turned into a new display at the museum.

Six years later Eleanor Ford donated more than $1 million which was used to fund the creation of the Department of African, Oceanic and New World Cultures.
7. In 2012, the Detroit Institute of Art was dealt a huge blow when the city filed for bankruptcy. Since the city owned the building and had paid for parts of the collection over the previous hundred years, creditors forced the museum to sell nearly $1 billion worth of art.

Answer: False

While the bankruptcy is true, the art sale never happened.

The State of Michigan appointed Emergency Financial Manager, Kevin Orr, hired Christie's Auction House to appraise the city-owned portion of the collection and received a valuation of $454 million to $867 million for the about 2,500 pieces.

The museum, state, city and several private donors then all struck a deal that helped raise nearly $1 billion over several years.

As part of the deal the building and the city's claim on portions of the art were given to a non-profit group that runs the museum.
8. While many art historians ranked the Detroit Institute of Art as one of the world's top 10 collections at the turn of the 21st century, the museum routinely ranked outside of the top ____ in worldwide attendance from 2000 to 2012. (What number fits closest to the missing digits?)

Answer: 100

According to a 2013 article published in "The Art Newspaper" a leading publication about art museums, the DIA had ranked 101st or lower in worldwide attendance for more than a decade.

The top 70 museums in the world draw more than a million visitors a year, the average attendance figures for the DIA are about 450,000 for the decade leading up to the article's publication. Attendance rose every year in the decade, starting with low figures of about 250,000 people and ending the period with more than 630,000 people.

The same publication ranked the DIA collection as the sixth best in the world based on both size and scope.
9. Which character in the 2005 film adaptation "Be Cool" was named after a famous Detroit Institute of Art employee?

Answer: Elliot Wilhelm

The film, based on a book written by Elmore Leonard, had an all-star cast. Peter Steinfeld wrote the screenplay. The book, bearing the same name, was released in 1999.

The character, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was named after longtime DIA film curator and former newspaper film critic Elliott Wilhelm. The real Wilhelm appeared as an extra in the film. Leonard and Wilhelm were longtime friends. The real Wilhelm has published a book of his own, called "Videohound's World Cinema: The Adventurer's Guide to Movie Watching".
10. Calvin Coolidge was president, William Taft was leading the Supreme Court film studio MGM was founded, the Washington Senators were the World Series champions and the cornerstone was laid for the Detroit Institute of Arts building in what year?

Answer: 1924

It was an exciting time in America. The building that would become the permanent home to the DIA was under construction and would be completed less than three years later. Since that time the building has been added on to several times, and fully restored in 2007.

The museum, in Detroit's Midtown region, has become the cultural heart of the city, with several other museums and places to gain cultural popping up in the area surrounding the building.
Source: Author Shadowmyst2004

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