Crocker History 

A photo of the Crocker Art Museum's historic building.

From a family art gallery to a modern museum, the Crocker has always been a gathering space for community.

The Museum

Our history started with the activities of the Sacramento philanthropists Edwin Bryant Crocker and his wife Margaret in the mid 1800s. Their interest in art led to a European trip in 1869–1871, where they collected 701 paintings and 1,344 Master Drawings to display in their art gallery, which was part of a complex renovation and addition to an existing house at 3rd and O streets. They also commissioned a large number of paintings from artists working in California.

Although this was a private collection—the largest in the United States at the time—the Crockers enriched their growing community by providing citizens with opportunities to view the works of art that they had acquired. The Art Gallery, as it was then known, came to be prized by Sacramentans, and in response, Margaret Crocker generously donated the gallery building and its collection to the City of Sacramento in 1885, forming the first public art museum west of the Mississippi.

Today, the Museum consists of the historic house and gallery structures, as well as the contemporary Teel Family Pavilion, which more than tripled the Museum's size in 2010.

A photo of the Crocker Art Museum including the historic and contemporary building.

The Crockers

Judge Edwin B. Crocker (1818–1875) and his wife Margaret Rhodes Crocker (1822–1901) moved to Sacramento from New York in 1852, where they championed abolitionism and supported numerous charitable causes. They raised seven children together, including the infamously colorful Amy Crocker (author of the autobiography And I’d Do It Again) and Jennie Crocker Fassett, who would follow in her mother’s charitable footsteps by contributing $10,000 towards the City of Sacramento’s purchase of the former Crocker family home in 1911.

After Judge Crocker suffered a stroke in 1869, the family embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe where they collected numerous works that would later become the foundation for the Museum’s collection, including a significant selection of European Master Drawings. Following her husband's death in 1875, Margaret presented the "Crocker Art Gallery" and the bulk of its collections to the City of Sacramento and the newly formed California Museum Association in May 1885.

Edwin Bryant Crocker was the eldest of five children born to Isaac and Elizabeth Clark Crocker. He grew up in Troy, New York, and attended the Rensselaer Institute (now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) where he earned a degree in civil engineering. He later studied law in South Bend, Indiana, where he established an impressive practice and a reputation as a staunch abolitionist. His first wife, Mary Norton, died in the late 1840s, leaving him with a young daughter. He married his second wife, Margaret Rhodes, on July 8, 1852 in New York. The ceremony was performed by Henry Ward Beecher and took place only a few days before the newlyweds booked passage to California, via the Isthmus of Panama. They arrived in San Francisco and made their way to Sacramento. Once established in their new home, Edwin resumed his legal career. In 1854, he became the chair of the newly formed Republican Party, which was committed to promoting national unity, opposing the spread of slavery, and encouraging a transcontinental railroad. Party victory came with Lincoln 's election as President and Stanford's election as California governor in 1861. Because of his expertise in common law and his prominence in party politics, Edwin was appointed a State Supreme Court Justice in 1863. During the seven months of his service, he handed down a record number of opinions. In 1864, Crocker accepted an offer to serve as legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad Company, a company organized by Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington and Edwin's brother, Charles Crocker. In June of 1869, Edwin suffered a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He retired from the railroad business and pursued other interests. These interests included renovation of the family's new home, commissioning an art gallery building, and embarking on a Grand Tour to Europe with his family from 1869 to 1871. The family moved into the new home in 1872, and installation of the galleries was completed in late 1873. Unfortunately, Edwin was not able to enjoy his collection or magnificent gallery for long, as he died on June 24, 1875.
Judge Edwin B. Crocker

1818–1875

Margaret, the youngest of twelve children, was born shortly after the death of her father. When her mother also passed away, Margaret went to live with a married sister, Anne Bender, in South Bend, Indiana. Here she sang in the local choral group, which is where she met Edwin and Mary Crocker. Following Mary's death, Margaret accepted Edwin's marriage proposal and joined him in the treacherous voyage to California. During most of her married years, Margaret's activities were devoted to family, church and the community. Like her husband, she was an ardent abolitionist and devoted time and money to charitable causes. After her husband's death in 1875, Margaret emerged as a social and civic leader. Her most significant philanthropic act was to present the "Crocker Art Gallery" and the bulk of its collections to the City of Sacramento and the newly formed California Museum Association in May 1885. She maintained an active interest in the Gallery through membership on the CMA Board, and she provided scholarships to students attending art school in the Crocker galleries. During the next several years, Margaret maintained residences in Sacramento, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles and New York. In 1900, she donated her Sacramento home to the Peniel Rescue Mission, her last public gift to charity. She died on December 1, 1901 in New York, and her ashes were returned to Sacramento to be placed in the family plot at the City Cemetery.
Margaret Eleanor Rhodes Crocker

1822–1901

Edwin's daughter by his first wife was born in 1848 in South Bend, Indiana and named after her mother. She joined her father and stepmother, Margaret, in Sacramento sometime after 1852. In November 1864, she married Charles Scudder, a bookkeeper in Sacramento. Edwin entrusted the management of his art collection to Charles, and in 1873 commissioned a home to be built for his daughter and Charles at the corner of Third and P Streets. They later divorced, and Mary married Myron P. Walker in 1878 and moved to New York.
Mary Norton Crocker Walker

1848–unknown

Kate (left), the eldest child of Edwin and Margaret, was born in 1854 in Sacramento. She pursued an active interest in art and was a student of Charles Christian Nahl. Her paintings were included in the prestigious San Francisco Art Association exhibitions. She married James O. B. Gunn in February 1874, but died soon after on October 26, 1874.
Kate Eugenie Crocker Gunn

1854–1874

Correspondence exchanged between Nellie and her beau, William A. Beck (Deputy of Secretary of State), reveals a more personal view of the Crocker family than any other surviving source. The letters, invitations and telegrams, written in 1879, refer to family visits to Lake Tahoe, dinner parties at the Crocker home, and Nellie's trip East to visit her half-sister Mary in New York City, her sister Jennie in Elmira, and family friends in Baltimore. Nellie, who never enjoyed robust health, died suddenly on December 27, 1879 in New York.
Nellie Margaret Crocker

1857–1879

Jennie Louise Crocker married attorney/businessman J. Sloat Fassett in February 1879 and moved to Elmira, New York. A champion of the fledgling gallery, she contributed $10,000 in 1911 toward the City’s purchase of the former Crocker family home to provide additional gallery and office space. Her many excursions abroad with her husband included a 1912 visit to Korea, where they were among the first westerners welcomed by the Royal Court. These travels inspired Jennie to collect Korean ceramics, fine jade, ivory and sculpture, all later gifted to the Museum’s permanent collection.
Jennie Louise Crocker Fassett

1860–1939

As the most colorful member of the Crocker family, Amy (later Aimée) enjoyed an exotic and indulgent lifestyle. Her audacious autobiography, entitled And I'd Do It Again, shocked readers when it was published in 1936. She married five times, including a union with the European Prince Galitzine. She had one daughter with her first husband R. Porter Ashe and later adopted Yvonne and Reginald while married to Jackson Gouraud. She died in New York in February 1941.
Amy Isabella Crocker Galitzine

1863–1941

The Architecture

In 1868, Judge Edwin B. Crocker purchased the property and existing buildings on the corner of 3rd and O Streets. He then commissioned local architect Seth Babson (1830-1908) to renovate the home into a grander, Italianate mansion. In addition, Crocker asked Babson to design an elaborate gallery building adjacent to the mansion to display the family's growing art collection. Babson envisioned the home and gallery as an integrated complex, unique in design and built from the finest materials. The gallery building included a bowling alley, skating rink, and billiards room on the ground floor; a natural history museum and a library on the first floor; and gallery space on the second floor. Completed in 1872, the Crocker family mansion and art gallery are considered the masterpieces of Babson's career. The family mansion went through several uses and reconstructions until a 1989 renovation restored the historic façade and created a modern gallery interior. The original buildings, now connected, as well as the since-demolished Herold Wing addition of 1969, were renamed the Crocker Art Museum in 1978. The gallery building is a California Historical Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Building

In 1868, Judge Edwin B. Crocker purchased the property and existing buildings on the corner of 3rd and O Streets. He then commissioned local architect Seth Babson (1830–1908) to renovate the home into a grander, Italianate mansion. In addition, Crocker asked Babson to design an elaborate gallery building adjacent to the mansion to display the family's growing art collection.

Babson envisioned the home and gallery as an integrated complex, unique in design and built from the finest materials. The gallery building included a bowling alley, skating rink, and billiards room on the ground floor; a natural history museum and a library on the first floor; and gallery space on the second floor. Completed in 1872, the Crocker family mansion and art gallery are considered the masterpieces of Babson's career. The family mansion went through several uses and reconstructions until a 1989 renovation restored the historic façade and created a modern gallery interior. The original buildings, now connected, as well as the since-demolished Herold Wing addition of 1969, were renamed the Crocker Art Museum in 1978. The gallery building is a California Historical Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2000, the Crocker appointed a selection committee comprised of elected officials, community leaders, CAMA board members, city staff, and potential donors to search for an architect who would lead the Museum through master planning. After a comprehensive review of the world's major museum architects, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA) was chosen to guide the process because of their design aesthetic and past experience. GSAA designed the expansion of the Crocker after conducting a thorough master planning process. Many voices from the community were involved in a collaborative process to ensure that the new building and the internal reconfiguration of the existing structures would work together as a whole. On October 10, 2010, the Crocker opened the 125,000-square-foot Teel Family Pavilion. The expansion more than tripled the Museum's size, enhancing its ability to serve Sacramento and the region's many visitors. For the first time in the Museum's history, there are dedicated gallery spaces for all collecting areas. The expansion also enabled the dedication of the historic building's entire first floor as the Museum's Education Center, including four studios, space for student and community exhibitions, an expanded Gerald Hansen Library, the Art Education Resource Room, and Tot Land.

Teel Family Pavilion

In 2000, the Crocker appointed a selection committee comprised of elected officials, community leaders, CAMA board members, city staff, and potential donors to search for an architect who would lead the Museum through master planning. After a comprehensive review of the world's major museum architects, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA) was chosen to guide the process because of their design aesthetic and past experience. GSAA designed the expansion of the Crocker after conducting a thorough master planning process. Many voices from the community were involved in a collaborative process to ensure that the new building and the internal reconfiguration of the existing structures would work together as a whole. On October 10, 2010, the Crocker opened the 125,000-square-foot Teel Family Pavilion.

The expansion more than tripled the Museum's size, enhancing its ability to serve Sacramento and the region's many visitors. For the first time in the Museum's history, there were dedicated gallery spaces for all collecting areas. The expansion also enabled the dedication of the historic building's entire first floor as the Museum's Education Center, including four studios, space for student and community exhibitions, an expanded Gerald Hansen Library, the Art Education Resource Room, and Tot Land.

The Crocker Through the Ages

Dedicated
To Art

The Crocker serves as the primary regional resource for the study and appreciation of fine art and offers a diverse spectrum of exhibitions, events, and programs.

Dedicated to art