National Gallery of Art ‘Across the Nation’ brings beloved works of art to FIA

FLINT, Michigan — Flint residents and visitors can now have the chance to view some beloved and important works of art, right here at the FIA Museum + Art School. In partnership with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the FIA will have three borrowed pieces of art on loan from now until April 2027. 

As part of their Across the Nation program, the Gallery will bring paintings from Renaissance artists Sandro Botticelli and Hans Memling, and a painting by 20th century Pop artist Andy Warhol to Flint. This particular program’s mission is to bring key works of art from their permanent collections to regional museums in the U.S.

Sarah Kohn is the Director and Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the FIA Museum + Art School, and has been at the FIA for almost 12 years, but is experiencing a ‘first’ with this new partnership.

Kohn says the National Gallery reached out to the FIA in the fall of 2023 to see if they’d be interested in learning more about the program and its possibilities. 
“We have not worked with the National Gallery of Art in the past, which makes this even more exciting,” Kohn says. 

The National Gallery of Art is a collection of more than 150,000 paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, photos, prints, and drawings throughout history. For no charge, the National Gallery offers a full spectrum of special exhibitions and public programs 363 days out of the year. 

“The curatorial team at the FIA was able to look through a large amount of potential options and select our top three favorites and a list of alternates,” Kohn says. “There were so many amazing options that it was very, very hard to choose.”

The FIA is the only museum in Michigan that is a participating museum in the program. 

“This is a great opportunity for visitors to see artwork that may not normally be available to see in the area,” Kohn says. “While we have some works on paper by Andy Warhol, this was a great opportunity to bring in a large painting from the artist.

We also were able to bring some of the story of the Renaissance to Flint with the paintings by Botticelli and Memling. It is also a wonderful opportunity to see artwork from another museum’s collection in a different context and setting.”

The Warhol piece also inspired curators to construct a micro-exhibit, Andy Warhol and the Cult of Fame, which is on display at FIA. “It explores his fascination with fame and how he became as famous, if not more than, the people he idolized,” Kohn says. 

There will also be artmaking opportunities, lectures, and other programming connected to the Across the Nation exhibit over the next two years. 

The Flint Institute of Arts is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free for FIA members and Genesee County residents, $10 for adults, free for children 12 and under, $8 for students with ID and for seniors. Admission is free for everyone on Saturday, courtesy of Huntington Bank.