In 1924, North Carolina’s General Assembly tasked the North Carolina Art Society with generating interest and raising funds for the creation of the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA). By 1928 the Society had acquired funds and 75 paintings from a private donor. In 1947, the General Assembly appropriated $1 million for the new museum, which was used to purchase 158 paintings, 2 sculptures, and 25 pieces of furniture.

The museum formally opened in 1956 in the former State Highway Division building on Morgan Street in Raleigh, N.C., and remained there until a new, expanded space opened on Blue Ridge Road in 1983.

NCMA Winston-Salem, formerly the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, has been affiliated with the North Carolina Museum of Art since 2007. Together, the two institutions serve more than 1 million in-person visitors each year and reach patrons through digital exhibits and programming in all 100 North Carolina counties.

The Mary Duke Biddle Gallery

Many records in this digital collection are sourced from the Mary Duke Biddle Gallery File (SR.61.8), a subseries of the Museum of Art record group.

 

The Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind opened in 1966 at the NCMA and ran for 16 years at the original Morgan Street location. This experimental gallery space encouraged tactile learning, allowing blind and low-vision patrons to have an interactive experience with art.

 

The records in this digital collection largely document patron interactions with exhibitions, including students from the Governor Morehead School, a frequent collaborator with the NCMA.

 

In 1983, the NCMA moved to its current location on Blue Ridge Road and the gallery was renamed the Mary Duke Biddle Education Gallery. Its accessibility services and programming grew to include people with other disabilities.

 

Governor Morehead School

  • Records of the North Carolina’s flagship institution for blind and low-vision students.

North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA)

  • More information about the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA)

  • Exhibition catalogs developed by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, now known as NCMA Winston-Salem.