Museum expansion to highlight Red Skelton’s artistic side
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(rendering courtesy of Vincennes University)
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(rendering courtesy of Vincennes University)
The executive director of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy at Vincennes University says a $4 million expansion will shine a greater spotlight on another aspect of the famed comedian’s talent.
The museum last week held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Lothian and Red Skelton Gallery of Fine Art, which director Anne Pratt said will provide the opportunity to showcase numerous original Red Skelton paintings provided by his widow, Lothian.
“We wanted to create a space to really give these paintings sort of their due,” Pratt told Inside INdiana Business. “In our current gallery, because Red had such an expansive life between, beginning in Vaudeveille, radio, feature films, the television show, there wasn’t enough space to include more than about seven paintings at a time, which we rotate.”
The $4 million gift was provided by the Skelton Estate to create the 7,200-square-foot gallery on the VU campus. The museum said Skelton began painting in the 1940s, and an original painting could sell for up to $50,000 in the 1980s.
“For Red, the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center was a dream come true, but for me, the Lothian and Red Skelton Gallery of Fine Art makes my dream come true,” Lothian Skelton, 87, said during the ceremony.
Pratt said the larger space will allow the museum to devote more attention to the different types of art he was interested in.
“When we do our changing exhibits now, we’re always pulling out a different area of something he was interested in, for example, his love of Japanese culture, his love of clowns, how he traveled around, and this is just really focusing on another aspect,” she said.
Along with the gallery space, the expansion will create a new archive space that Pratt said will hold everything related to Skelton’s career in art.
Additionally, the museum could potentially use the gallery for traveling exhibits.
“With the name Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, we’d like to eventually start having exhibits here temporarily, featuring like Bob Hope or Lucille Ball or other comedians perhaps of Red’s era, just to keep the museum fresh and keep people coming back.”
And that is the long-term goal for the museum, which opened in 2013 and sees thousands of visitors from around the world each year. Pratt said they are always looking to find new ways to draw more attendees, especially since Skelton isn’t as well known today as he was as the height of his fame.
“What we’re trying to do is create programming and create exhibits that are fun for people of all ages, especially the younger generation, who may not know who Red is, and they’re just like, ‘Hey, let’s check out this Museum of American Comedy,’” she said. “So we’ve just actually just installed three new interactive exhibits in the museum to try to keep people involved, especially younger people.”
While the ceremonial groundbreaking took place last week, the museum doesn’t expect to begin construction until next spring. Pratt said planning and design work is slated to begin this winter, with final bids being accepted in March or April.
An exact opening date is not yet known, but Pratt said they are shooting for summer 2025.
In addition to the expansion, the museum is continuing to grow its programming. The museum has held the Red Skelton Festival every year for nearly two decades, but next year’s event will have a slightly different focus.
“We’re kind of switching the theme of the festival to more of a comedy festival,” said Pratt. “So we’ll have comedy venues focusing on clean comedy as Red’s trademark was his clean comedy and humor. And so we’re looking at really expanding our comedy.”
Next year’s festival is slated for July 18-20. You can learn more about the museum and the expansion by clicking here.