Why is the Museum sometimes called the Crocker Art Gallery?
The Museum was known as the E. B. Crocker Art Gallery until 1978, when it was renamed the Crocker Art Museum. In late Victorian times, the word “gallery” described a series of large, public rooms in which art was displayed. In contemporary usage “gallery” generally refers to a place that sells art, or that has a small, or particularly focused collection. Currently, the word “museum” is more suited to a large, public institution where art of various periods can be experienced. So today, “Museum” better expresses the mission for which the Crocker was founded.
