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Introduction

Recent Acquisitions

Inclusive and Diverse
February 18 - April 16, 2000

For more than a century, The RISD Museum has been actively collecting art from all ages and cultures. This is consistent with the shared mission of the Museum and School of Design to promote "the general advancement of public Art Education, by the exhibition of works of Art ..." In any given year, several hundred objects enter the permanent collection through donation, purchase, and bequest. The Museum's holdings included approximately 80,000 artworks at last count. Visitors often wonder why museums acquire some works of art and not others. This exhibition presents a selection of objects acquired over the past five years by the Museum's six curatorial departments: Ancient Art, Asian Art, Costume and Textiles, Decorative Arts, Painting and Sculpture, and Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. Other recent acquisitions are displayed in the Museum's various permanent collection galleries.

For this exhibition, the labels accompanying each object take a new approach. In addition to identifying the artist, date, materials, and donor's name, each label explains why a particular object is an appropriate addition to the Museum's collection. Among the often cited reasons for acquiring works of art are:

to augment existing collection strengths

to extend the range of holdings into new areas of collecting and to respond to an expanding and culturally diverse audience

to support teaching at the School of Design, a priority that sets The RISD Museum apart from many other art museums

to present works of strong visual impact -- beauty as its own reward

There are many objects whose fragility does not allow extended exposure to light and air (for example, textiles, watercolors, and silver). Such works make brief appearances in special exhibitions and permanent gallery rotations. It is hoped that our visitors will return to see the Museum's new works of art, as they in turn become the context for future acquisitions.

Selected Objects

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Braving the bitter cold, our troops set up camp at Yingkou (Eiko no genkan o okashite wagagun roei o haru no zu), 1895

Greek

Female Figurine, ca. 500 BCE
No Image Available

John R. Smith

The Vacant Frame, 1983

Zulu South African, South Africa

Beer Fermentation Vessel, 1900s

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Smelling salt bottle, 1898

Denny Moers

Scrub Brush I, 1996

Yizhak Elyashiv

Handful of Grains Map, 1996

Paul Cadmus

Male Nude, TS5, 1954

Timothy S. Philbrick

Asymmetrical Table, 1998

John Prip, designer

Dimension Tea and Coffee Service, 1960

David Hockney

Plastic Tree Plus City Hall, 1964

Italo-Greek, Apulia

Oil Container (Askos) in the Form of a Boar, late 300s BCE-early 200s BCE

Hugh Cornwall Robertson, designer

Vase, ca. 1896

Marta Maria Perez Bravo

Para la entrega [For the Offering], 1994

Louis Lozowick

Luna Park, ca. 1929

Greek

Stater, ca. 390-360 BCE

Greek

Stater, ca. 390-360 BCE

Bob Stocksdale

Bowl, 1994

Cristóbal Balenciaga, designer

Chemise dress, ca. 1957
No Image Available

Cheryl Warrick

Suburban Evening (Langston Hughes Suite), 1996

Yokuts Native North American, California

Oval Basket, 1800s

Attributed to Christopher Dresser, designer

Pitcher, ca. 1881

Greek

Stater, ca. 390-360 BCE

Hellenistic

Miniature lamp, 1st century BCE

Celtic, Ireland

Neck ring (torque), ca. 1300-1000 BCE
No Image Available

American, Boston Massachusetts

Chest of drawers, ca. 1770-1790

Kay Sekimachi

Ikat Box, ca. 1989

Félix Bracquemond, designer

Two Plates from the "Rousseau" Service, 1866-1875

Yan Han

Peasants Defending Their Grain (against the Japanese and the Puppets), 1943
No Image Available

Chinese

Serving Tray, ca. 1804
No Image Available

George Peter Alexander Healy

Portrait of Miss Sneyde, ca. 1866

Johann Gottlieb Prestel, printmaker

The Dismissal of Hagar, ca. 1770-1790
No Image Available

English

Tumbler ("Samuel G. Fowler"), 1783, 1700s

American, Probably New York City Possibly Boston

Center table, ca. 1850

Boeotian Greek

Goat, 5th century BCE

Ben Nicholson

Deep Persian Lilac, 1955

Chelsea Porcelain Factory, manufacturer

Serving Dish, ca. 1754

Sam Gilliam

Providence (On the 6:36 at 9:00), 1999

Jasper Johns

Numbers, 1967-1981
No Image Available

Brian Blow

Iron Chords, 1997

Mary Cassatt

Under the Horse Chestnut Tree, 1896-1897

Denny Moers

Scrub Brush II, 1996

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Pendant, 1900

Chinese

Eighteen-armed Guanyin figurine, 1700s
No Image Available

William Arthur Smith Benson

Teapot on Stand, 1914

Sheila Hicks

Mapped Satellite, 1990

Chinese, China, for export markets

Armchair, ca. 1805

Chinese export

Portrait of Captain Samuel Snow of Providence, RI, wearing the Order of Cincinnati, ca. 1800

Codman & Codman, designer

Celery dish, 1904-1905

Gu Yuan 古元

Winter Schooling, ca. 1942-44
No Image Available

Unknown artist

Child's dress, 1850s

Gertrud Natzler

Vase, 1957

Greek

Stater coin, 390-360 BCE

American, Maine Probably

Dress, ca. 1795

Indian or Portuguese, Portugal

Marriage Quilt (Colcha), 1700s

Waldemar Raemisch, designer

Vase, ca. 1940

Ellis W. Ruley

King Going Up the Military Academy, 1940-1959

Greek

Stater, ca. 390-360 BCE

Charles Eames, designer

FSW (Folding Screen Wood), 1946

Isabel De Obaldia

Captive Spirit, 1999

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Recent Acquisitions : Inclusive and Diverse

February 18 - April 16, 2000
View Checklist PDF

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