What gap is Adam Levine filling with the over-priced, over-restored “Crusader Icon,” traded for a valuable Impressionist painting, when Edward Drummond Libbey gave us a dozen similar icons in 1912?
How does TMA decide what artwork to put on view in the reinstalled galleries?
TMA’s primary goal is to have the highest quality collection that demonstrates our commitment to broadening the narrative of art history. The Museum’s collection has been acquired over the last 125 years and over that time priorities and patterns of collecting have evolved.
As we prepare to install a comprehensive display of art that showcases six centuries of human creativity across six continents, we are prioritizing new acquisitions that fill a variety of gaps in our collection.
These gaps include geographic areas, time periods, under-represented artists, and mediums. To date, these acquisitions have included objects like the Cup of Joy, the Crusader Icon, Hale Woodruff’s The Underground Railroad, and colorful contemporary Hawaiian quilts just to name a few.
