Feature in Full - Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

Raymond D. Nasher was one of the country's leading collectors of modern and contemporary sculpture and is the namesake and founder of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Opened in 2005, with an exhibition of art from Nasher's collection, the museum is located in a $24 million showplace building on the campus of Duke University.

Propelled to the international art stage in 2008, the then-three-year-old Nasher Museum hosted "El Greco to Velázquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III," a major collection of rare paintings and objects from the "Golden Age of Spain."

The exhibit was shown in only two locations in the U.S., Boston and Durham, and was ranked #3 on Time Magazine's Top 10 Museum Exhibits of 2008 list.

According to national studies by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, a third of one percent of travelers can be drawn to a destination using art exhibitions and museums as the main reason for travel, but nearly 12 times that number (3.9%) will participate in that activity regardless of the reason they are drawn to a destination. The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University positions Durham well in this market.

In addition to the top-notch art, the museum features a celebrated restaurant. The Nasher Museum Café was praised in Food & Wine as "an ever-changing exhibit of culinary art" based on Chef Giorgios Bakatsias' contemporary menu of seasonal recipes with fresh ingredients.

The current exhibition “Color Balance: Paintings by Felrath Hines and Alma Thomas” (running through September 5th) is an example of the museum’s goal to “foster understanding and appreciation of the visual arts by providing direct experiences with original works.”

In addition to the art exhibitions, the museum also has a “Summer Days, Nasher Nights” series which will feature Chef Fredi Morf this Thursday, July 22. He will join his former student, Nasher Museum Café Chef Laura Baucom. The menu includes summer gazpacho with cucumber granite, pan-seared grouper with ratatouille, and golden polenta cake with warm peach crisp with ginger ice cream for dessert. Reservations are encouraged.

Interested in visiting the museum and enjoying a relaxing meal in the cafe? Visit now to see “Color Balance: Paintings by Felrath Hines and Alma Thomas” then return this fall for “The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl” opening September 2, 2010 and running through February 6, 2011. “The Vorticists: Rebel Artists in London and New York, 1914-18” also opens September 30 and runs through January 2, 2011.