Andy Warhol, American, 1928-1987. Mao, 1972. Complete set of 10 screen prints in colors, on Becket High White paper, unsigned suite outside the edition of 250. Gift of Anonymous Donor to the CMA in 2014.
know how to direct our energy.
One of those directions is toward
wonderful private collections that someday
will become public. If there is a great art
collection in South Carolina (or beyond)
that will help us to reach our programming
and audience engagement goals, the
CMA wants it reside be here so we may
forever present it and interpret it for our
community. The CMA is prepared to
accept and professionally administer the
best art still in private hands. Happily,
those who own that art often are thinking
about what is to become of their fine art.
Sometimes the simple solution is for that
great art to be donated to the CMA where
it will inspire our community forever.
Of course, not everything the CMA
could use is already in an accessible
private collection. Once in a while, the
museum has to take the steps to purchase
a painting, drawing, piece of furniture, or
work of decorative art. To that end, the
Museum—like all museums—saves money
in endowments especially for this purpose.
When a “perfect for the CMA” work of art
comes along, it is the task of the Museum
curators to identify that piece and see if it
is at all possible to purchase. This is a part
of the job that requires the most careful
kind of consideration, lots of patience, and,
often, a tolerance for taking risks.
Another strategy is to expand the size of
the exhibition space to accommodate a
collection of national stature. Indeed, the
CMA has long been planning ways to add
galleries. When more and varied works of
art are truly needed to enrich the visitor
experience, the answer is not always taking
down art to make room. The CMA has the
opportunity to add galleries in the future
and find a balance between the old and
new in what it presents. Right now, the
CMA does an excellent job of presenting
the history of art up to the early
20th century.
But what of the art of our own time? We
need to make room for that.
Just recently, for example, the CMA
acquired an outstanding work of
contemporary art, Osamu Kobayashi’s
striking oil on canvas, Frozen Ghosts, Black
Hole, 2010 (see page 2). This thoughtprovoking work is the gift of the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, New York.
The Academy’s purchase program began
in 1946, with the goal of purchasing
and donating works by living American
artists to museums across the county. The
Columbia Museum of Art has been the
recipient of three previous gifts from the
Academy. A native of Columbia, South
columbiamuseum.org
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