The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has enriched its extensive collection with the addition of 250 new artworks over the past year. These acquisitions, sourced from various corners of the globe and spanning multiple centuries, aim to enhance the diversity of global perspectives represented in the museum's holdings, as stated in an official release.
A significant portion of these new pieces--180 in total--originates from an anonymous donation featuring contemporary art by 63 different artists, including notable names such as Gina Beavers, Lucas Blalock, and Juliana Huxtable.
In late 2020, the BMA encountered considerable public scrutiny when it announced plans to deaccession three high-value paintings to generate $65 million, primarily to acquire works by women and artists of color. However, the museum ultimately decided to halt the sale just hours before it was set to occur at Sotheby's.
Despite this unexpected change, the BMA has remained committed to diversifying its collection in the years since. Asma Naeem, the museum's director, expressed that "artistic innovation and compelling narratives of the human experience transcend historical and geographical boundaries."
Among last year's noteworthy acquisitions are a series of etchings and copper plates by Henri Matisse. Ten etchings and an equal number of plates come from a 1932 illustrated book featuring mythological themes inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé's poetry. Additionally, four plates portray Matisse's eldest daughter, Marguerite. These artworks were generously gifted by Barbara Dauphin Duthuit, Matisse's granddaughter-in-law, who previously donated other significant works to the BMA.
Other remarkable additions include a painting by the lesser-known Surrealist artist Alice Rahon, Kiyan Williams's aluminum sculpture honoring LGBTQ rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, vibrant textiles crafted by artists from the Manufacture Sénégalaises des Arts Décoratifs de Thiès, and a Delfware tobacco jar depicting a tobacco harvest scene from Baltimore, produced by Barbara Rotteveel, the earliest known independent woman maker of Delftware.
Here's a selection of twelve remarkable works acquired by the BMA in the previous year.