The Museum Project 2012-2015

The Museum Project 2012-2015 by Aline SmithsonOctober 10, 2015

©Nancy Webber, Self Portrait with Eyelid Pulled Down, Egon Schiele-Peter A. Zecher 1995

The DNJ Gallery in Santa Monica recently opened an unusual exhibition, The Museum Project 2012-2015, guest curated by Robert von Sternberg. The project reflects photographer’s contributions to significant institutions.

©Bonnie Schiffman, Judy Tunuta

THE MUSEUM PROJECT 2012-2015

In 2012, I felt compelled to express my appreciation to the Museums and Universities that had long supported me in my career as an Artist and University Art Professor. My idea was, in gratitude, to donate works of art to institutions that would welcome these additions to their permanent collections. A group of like-minded artists, also willing to make donations, was mobilized, and The Museum Project was born.

With the assistance of Darryl Curran as Selections Consultant/Project Advisor, and the support of Pamela Schoenberg, Owner of dnj Gallery, the Museum Project was formalized. The initial Project consisted of a core group of seven artists, all of whom are widely recognized for their use of the Photographic Medium. From October 2012 to July 2015, that core number of Artists increased from seven to the current group of nineteen.

In that the dollar amount of the Photographic work that we donated reflected the extent of exposure of the Public to this material, the project would have been considered a success if we were to donate Art that had a dollar value equivalency of $150,000. As of July 2015, the 1,220 plus prints acquired by donation to Museum permanent collections represents a total value in excess of $2,000,000.00. The Museum Project has clearly far exceeded my original goal.

To date, the potential for the availability of these works to the Art viewing public is in the hands of the Curators of eighty one institutional permanent collections in thirty seven American States, the Federal Reserve Board Art Collection in Washington, D.C., and The Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, France.

I wish to extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the participating Artists who have made the Museum Project such a tremendous success.

Robert von Sternberg
July 2015

©Nancy Webber, Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci, Nancy Maurer 1984

Participating artists at dnj Gallery exhibition “The Museum Project 2012-2015” September 12-October 31, 2015: Barry Andersen, Laurie Brown, Darryl Curran, Robert Fichter, Anthony Friedkin, Judith Golden, Betty Hahn, Suda House, Victor Landweber, Kenda North, Jane O’Neal, Sheila Pinkel, Bonnie Schiffman, Rena Small, Michael Stone, Robert von Sternberg, Melanie Walker, Todd Walker, and Nancy Webber.

Museum Permanent Collections Recipients 2012-2015

Ackland Art Museum, UNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Bates Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine
Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, Paris, France
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida
Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
California Museum of Photography, UCR, Riverside, California
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
CU Art Museum, UCB, Boulder, Colorado
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri
Daura Gallery, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia
Eire Art Museum, Eire, Pennsylvania
Federal Reserve Board Art Collection, Washington, D.C.
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fleming Museum of Art, UV, Burlington, Vermont
Fort Wayne Musem of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fred Jones Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma
Grinnell College Art Museum, Grinnell, Iowa
Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida
Haverford College Library, Special Collections, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Hofstra University Museum, Hempsted, New York
Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama
Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, Wisconsin
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi
Montana Museum of Art and Culture, UM, Missoula, Montana
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Mulvane Art Museum, Topeka, Kansas
Muscarelle Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia
Museum of Art, UNH, Durham, New Hampshire
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut
Norlin Library Special Collections, UCB, Boulder, Colorado
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
Palm Springs Museum of Art, Palm Springs, California
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Perlman Museum, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota
Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, California
Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence, Rhode Island
Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, California
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
San Diego State College Library, Special Collections, San Diego, California
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California
Schneider Museum of Art, SOU, Ashland, Oregon
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
SIU University Museum, Carbondale, Illinois
Southeast Museum of Photography, DSC, Daytona Beach, Florida
Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas
Syracuse University Art Galleries, Syracuse, New York
Texas Tech University Museum of Art, Lubbock, Texas
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Tweed Museum of Art, UM, Duluth, Minnesota
University Art Museum, CSU, Fort Collins, Colorado
University Art Museum, SUNY, Albany, New York
University Museums, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Art Collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, Wyoming
USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, Florida
Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York
Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, California
Wittliff Collections, Alkek Library, TSU, San Marcos, Texas