Our collection of more than 5,000 works showcases the unique voice of American artists from the 19th century to the present. Guided by the belief that our art should reflect the constantly shifting landscape that defines the American experience, we embrace and celebrate new voices, as well as favorites from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The M’s collection includes the largest institutional holdings of the works of Paul Manship and George Morrison; artworks by Thomas Hart Benton, Romare Bearden, Ed Ruscha, and Louise Nevelson; important works of craft and folk art; and contemporary works by artists from Minnesota, including Wing Young Huie, Julie Buffalohead, Jim Denomie, and Warren MacKenzie.
Click an image below to read more about the artist and artwork. Visit our collections archive to view more pieces.
The development of Minnesota Museum of American Art’s (the M) collection is an interesting story marked by grand dreams, tumultuous times, and shrewd networking. It twists and turns, according to the fascinations of collectors dedicated to building a topnotch collection in St. Paul, as well as ambitious artists, administrators, and directors. Operating under seven names and from more than 13 different venues over its 117 years, one needs a road map to keep up with the evolution and whereabouts of the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Admittedly, while settling on a location and mission might have been the M’s central challenges over the course of its development, the ebb and flow of its collections is also clearly connected to that peripatetic history.
It is fitting, then, that the beginning of the M’s collection is tied to one of its locations: 476 Summit Avenue, the sandstone mansion that transformed the St. Paul School of Art into a gallery and then, ultimately, an art center. Sold to the school in 1939 by Mr. and Mrs. Roger Shepard, the library of the house was given the first accession number, 39.01.01, marking the moment when art collecting would become an official activity of this dynamic art school. While the St. Paul Gallery and School of Art spent most of the 1940s developing its exhibition program, mounting ambitious exhibitions in a whirl of activity seems dizzying today, it accepted gifts from patrons and artists and slowly entered the fray of collecting.
A significant bequest of Chinese jade in 1947 inaugurated the gallery’s focus on Asian art and, for the first time, brought a museum-quality collection into the Summit Avenue mansion. This was the same year than an architect working with the Walker Art Center, Malcolm E. Lein, crossed the Mississippi to become the gallery’s first non-artist director and initiated a slew of programs and events that would bring focus to the collection ambitions of the organization. Minnesota artists of all ilks – painters, sculptors, craftspeople in all manner of media, illustrators, and architectural draftsmen – had a place in the exhibition programs and sales opportunities at the gallery. Biennials of craft and drawing drew thousands of artists from across the country and established the St. Paul Gallery and School of Art (and its successors, the St. Paul Art Center and the Minnesota Museum of Art) as a leader in American innovation in the arts. While the collections of Old Masters, African and Southeast Asian art, and modern European and American artists flooded the gallery, and later the collection, it was the art of Minnesotans – whether born or bred, or newly immigrated – that distinguished the burgeoning collections of St. Paul’s upstart art museum.
The major redefinition of the museum’s collection occurred in the mid- to late-1990s, when over 60 percent of the collection was deaccessioned to herald the museum’s revamped focus on American art. From its maximum of about 10,500 artworks in the early 1990s to approximately 3,800 a decade later, the newly named Minnesota Museum of American Art focused on works that embodied the unique spirit of American visual art, from 19th century landscapes and portraits to artworks that expressed the multicultural concerns and directions of the late 20th- and early 21st-century. This turn toward American art as a stated focus of the museum began with the 1982 acquisition of a major painting by Robert Henri (the 1906 Modiste of Madrid) and other outstanding early 20th-century American works by artists such as Childe Hassam, John Sloan, Thomas Hart Benton, and many others. The acquisition of a significant collection of Edward S. Curtis photographs in 1986 signaled the museum’s entry into collection American photographs – a passion of the museum’s then director, M. James Czarniecki III.
But, while interest in assembling a great collection of American art accelerated from the 1980s on, it was the focus on Minnesota art – and those artists who lived, worked, labored in, and loved this region – that uniquely marked the collections of the M from its very beginning. Strengthened in 1966 with a major gift of 357 works by the St. Paul-born sculptor Paul Manship, this concentration on our artists gives the museum’s collection its unique flavor and historical vitality. Connections with Minnesota’s strong craft communities and its Native American (and especially Ojibwe) cultures, as well as work by local artists from professionals to amateurs, all accentuate the vibrant discourse that emanates from the collections of Minnesota Museum of American Art.
Currently approximately 5,000 works strong, the collections of the M are still growing, as is the museum. Before its grand (re)opening in December 2018, the M operated from a storefront gallery, the Project Space, at the corner of 4th and Robert Streets in downtown St. Paul’s historic Pioneer Endicott buildings. But aside from that modest space, both the museum and its collection went without a permanent home for more than decade. And when the M didn’t have a brick-and-mortar space to call its own, this great collection served as the institution’s standard bearer, the lifeblood that connected the rich history and solid legacy of this august museum to audiences of the present, as well as the future. It’s a proud moment, for the museum, the city, and our state, to see these remarkable artworks, held for so long in public trust, once again restored, and in such grand fashion, to public view.
Rights and Reproductions
A limited number of images of objects in Minnesota Museum of American Art’s collection are available for research and publication. To request an image, fill out the order form and submit to Nicole Delfino Jansen at ndelfino@mmaa.org.
Note that Minnesota Museum of American Art does not hold copyright for most images in its collection. The museum may supply photographic materials, but each applicant is responsible for obtaining copyright permission from the copyright holder for their use, unless images are in the public domain.
Details
Use of Digital Materials or Photographs
Permission is granted for one-time use only. Applicant may not use the images for any other purpose than that which is declared at the time the image request is made without submitting an additional permission request. Any unauthorized use, for any reason, will render the applicant responsible and liable to the Museum for appropriate compensation and other costs, regardless of whether the applicant has profited from or is responsible for such unauthorized use.
Where no image exists, photography may sometimes be made to order, depending on the Museum’s work schedule and upon payment of a new photography fee. Transparencies and digital images resulting from such new photographs remain the property of the Museum.
You may not use requested image(s) or the name of Minnesota Museum of American Art in advertising without the express prior written permission of the Museum. Images shall not be used to show or imply that the Museum endorses any commercial product or enterprise, concurs with the opinions expressed in, or confirms the accuracy of any text used with the image(s).
Credit Lines
YOU AGREE TO ACCOMPANY ALL REPRODUCTIONS OF THE MUSEUM’S IMAGES(S) WITH THE FOLLOWING:
Caption: artist, nationality, birth and death dates, title of work, date, medium, dimension, Collection Minnesota Museum of American Art, fund
Credit: The third-party copyright holder, if any, according to his/her instructions
With the exception of reproductions used in advertising and films, an acknowledgement specified by the Museum must appear in immediate proximity to the reproduction or in the acknowledgements section of the publication. Abbreviations are not permitted. In the case of television or films, full ownership credit and acknowledgements as specified by the Museum must be included in the credits. For internet use, the caption and credit line must appear in immediate proximity of the Image, or in a “Sources of Illustrations” section.
If such placement proves to be impractical, please contact the Museum’s Registrar, Nicole Delfino Jansen by email at ndelfino@mmaa.org.
Permissions & Copyright
Permission to reproduce images and the fees assigned for that permission cover only the specific use detailed in the applicant’s request. Any and all reprints, further editions, re-use of digital images, or additional use of any kind must be preceded by a new application and is not covered by the original fee or permission granted to reproduce an image.
Conditions
Requests and reproductions must be received in writing.
Each reproduction must bear the full credit.
Each object must be reproduced in its entirety (i.e., no cropping, “bleeding”, or overprinting) unless approved in advance from Minnesota Museum of American Art.
Before publication of any reproduction in color, a proof must be approved by Minnesota Museum of American Art.
For all prints, send two (2) gratis copies to Minnesota Museum of American Art, 350 Robert Street North, St. Paul, MN 55101.
Reproductive rights apply to the single use as described on this application, and under no condition does this right extend to the use of the image in another form. A separate application must be made in writing for reproduction rights to any reprinting or any future editions of this publication.
The publisher agrees to indemnify and hold the Museum harmless from any and all claims of infringement on behalf of the artist or any person instituted as a result of the reproduction of this work provided for herewith. The Museum assumes no responsibility for any royalties or fees claimed by the artist or by his/her estate.
Certain works of art as well as the photographs of those works of art may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by the museum. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any such rights exist, and for obtaining all other necessary permissions, remains with the applicant.
Minnesota Museum of American Art does not grant exclusive rights to any publisher, author, or photographer, and accepts no responsibility for duplication of images by others.
Digital Image Fee
TIFF (Hi-Res for large prints and exhibitions) $175 JPG (Hi-Res for publication under 1,000 prints) $150/$200 (Cover) JPG (Low-Res for web, research, educational) $75 Reuse 50% of price listed above
Rush Fee (Within two weeks of ordering. Regular reproduction process will take a minimum of 3 – 4 weeks.) 100% of the order
If the M does not currently have an image, there will be an additional charge for photography.
