Company Profile
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Company Overview
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is dedicated to the enjoyment and understanding of the visual arts and the varied cultures they represent. At the core of the museum’s vision of the future is the goal of playing a central role in Kansas City life by catalyzing connections to neighbors; an ever-expanding range of visitors (over 500,000 per year); and community, civic and cultural partners in the city and the larger region. In short, the Nelson-Atkins is “where the power of art engages the spirit of the community.”
Museum Collections
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is recognized as one of the world’s finest encyclopedic art museums, with collections encompassing more than 40,000 art objects, including masterpieces from diverse world cultures spanning 5,000 years of history. Well known for the arts of China and also Japan, South and Southeast Asia, the museum also holds significant European art, American art, American Indian art, African art and a magnificent photography collection. In addition, the Nelson-Atkins boasts strong modern and contemporary collections with a major emphasis on sculpture that supports the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, which includes over 30 monumental works. The encyclopedic collection represents a pinnacle of artistic achievement and serves as evidence of humankind’s history, religions, philosophies, aspirations, and daily lives.
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access = Success (IDEAS)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion, diversity, equity, access and success. Our staff and volunteers are among our most valuable assets. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our staff and volunteers invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and achievement as well.
We embrace and encourage our staffs’ and volunteers’ differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make us unique.
Non-Discrimination
We firmly support the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of age, race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, national orientation (ancestry), disability, marital status, veteran or military status or any other protected category pursuant to applicable federal, state or local law.
Company History
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, one of the finest art museums in the United States, arose from the instincts and ambitions of two private individuals who shared the dream of providing a public art museum for Kansas City and the surrounding region.
William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star, was convinced that for a city to be truly civilized, art and culture were necessities. When he died in 1915, the bulk of his estate was used to establish the William Rockhill Nelson Trust, the income from which was to be used for “the purchase of works of fine arts such as paintings, engravings, sculptures, tapestries, and rare books…which will contribute to the delectation and enjoyment of the public generally.”
Kansas City school teacher Mary McAfee Atkins had similar aspirations for her city. Although relatively unknown, she provided the city with approximately one-third of her million-dollar estate “for the purchase of necessary ground in Kansas City, Missouri, and the creation of a building to be maintained and used as a Museum of Fine Arts for the use and benefit of the public.”
The Nelson estate was combined with Mary Atkins’ legacy to build an art museum for the people of Kansas City. The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and the Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts opened to the public on Dec. 11, 1933.
Unlike most major museums, the Nelson-Atkins collection was not developed from existing collections of art. With passionate leadership and the assets of the Nelson Trust, however, the Museum was able to build a strong collection that has continued to grow.
Benefits
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art offers a comprehensive benefit portfolio consisting of health and welfare benefits, paid time off, and a retirement plan. We offer our full-time staff medical, dental, vision, long term disability, life insurance plan, employee assistance plan and a comprehensive wellness initiative. In addition, NAMA provides a 403(b) retirement plan with a generous employer match and core contribution, vacation, sick, and family paid time off, plus ten company-paid holidays every year.