Museum acquisitions
Rijksmuseum acquires controversial early botanic book on Suriname
Maria Sibylla Merian was accused of exploiting native knowledge of enslaved people without credit for her 1705 book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
US National Gallery acquires four Robert Longo drawings, including one of the 6 January insurrection
The monumental works highlight both the might and the fragility of US government institutions
Getty Museum acquires portrait by Neo-Classical painter Sophie Frémiet
It is the first US-museum acquisition of a work by the talented pupil of Jacques-Louis David
Developer’s $325m gift will help create new museum in Seattle
Richard Hedreen is donating a collection valued at $300m and $25m cash to create an art museum at Seattle University
Louvre acquires Chardin’s Strawberries painting thanks to 10,000 individual donors
Famous 18th-century work will tour France, heading to Lens and Brest
Revealed: How Tate briefly considered acquiring a Van Gogh self-portrait—which was later exposed as a fake
The gallery couldn’t afford the price, of just under £20,000
Baltimore Museum of Art acquires its first piece of performance art
The performance by Jefferson Pinder is one of more than 100 new acquisitions recently announced by the institution
When Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ was bought by the National Gallery it was snubbed as one of its top 100 acquisitions of the decade
Omitted from the 1920s book, next September the masterpiece will star in a London blockbuster on Vincent’s art of Provence
National Gallery of Australia finally unveils controversial £3.5m Jordan Wolfson commission
The provocative robotic piece was first announced more than five years ago
US National Gallery of Art receives its first works of Haitian art, via two gifts
The 15 works, donated by two collecting couples, will form the core of an exhibition in autumn 2024
Collectors Marilyn and Larry Fields make ‘landmark gift’ of 79 works to MCA Chicago
The gifted works are predominantly by woman-identifying and Bipoc artists, including pieces by Huma Bhabha, Arthur Jafa, Adrian Piper, Jennie C. Jones and Cindy Sherman
SFMoMA acquires more than 100 works by artists with disabilities
The acquisitions mark a new partnership between the museum and Bay Area non-profit Creative Growth Art Center; the museum also acquired works from Creativity Explored and Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development
Tibetan Buddhist shrine with more than 200 artefacts donated to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
The shrine comes from Alice S. Kandell, who amassed one of the most significant private collections of Tibetan Buddhist art in North America
Acquisitions round-up: London museums jointly purchase pre-Raphaelite painting that depicts Jamaican woman
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide
Portrait of Omai? What about bringing Henry VIII’s epic tapestry back to the UK, says British businessman
The piece by Pieter Coecke van Aelst remains in Spain but Jonathan Ruffer wants to show it at his new Faith Museum in County Durham
Baltimore Museum of Art acquires LaToya Ruby Frazier installation honouring community healthcare workers
The installation spotlights health workers that helped underserved communities in Baltimore at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic
SFMoMA acquires architectural capsule from Tokyo's famed Metabolist tower
Architect Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower was demolished last year, but 23 of its distinctive pods were preserved
Hans Arp’s estate gifts 220 sculptures to ten museums around the world
Many of the gifted works will go to European institutions, while others are bound for Boston, Dallas and Melbourne
San Diego's museums of art and photography will merge
The Balboa Park cultural mainstays will form one institution, effective 1 July
Acquisitions round-up: rediscovered miniature by female Old Master added to US National Gallery of Art's collection
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide
The oldest Hebrew Bible in existence breaks auction record for a manuscript at Sotheby's
The price for the Codex Sassoon surpassed the sum Bill Gates paid for a Leonardo da Vinci codex in 1994
Lacma supporters raise $2m and make ten acquisitions for the museum, including Nick Cave Soundsuit and Hawaiian queen’s bedcloth
The museum’s annual Collectors Committee Weekend provides a major boost to its holdings
A series of recent lawsuits could change the way UK museums acquire works for their collections
Disputed attribution claims rarely play out in court, but two recent legal cases could provide valuable lessons for acquisitions teams at cultural institutions across the UK
Seattle Art Museum receives 48 Calder works and $10m from former Microsoft president and his wife
The trove of works from Jon and Kim Shirley includes many mobiles and stabiles, and comes with a commitment to fund ongoing programming on the artist
Major Bill Traylor painting that previously belonged to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is gifted to the American Folk Art Museum
The painting, which belonged to the late playwright Lanford Wilson, was donated to the museum by his Circle Repertory Company co-founder, Tanya Berezin
Acquisitions round up: the Met acquires 16th-century portrait of pope's banker
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide
London to get free, permanent David Bowie display as Victoria and Albert Museum acquires archive
Costumes, albums, lyrics and videos from 80,000-strong collection will go on show at the V&A East Storehouse from 2025
Paris's Centre Pompidou breaks new ground by acquiring 18 NFTs
The acquisition, the first of its kind by a major French public museum, includes works by Jonas Lund, Robness, Agnieszka Kurant and Sarah Meyohas
Mysterious NFT collector—who may actually be the rapper Snoop Dogg—gifts 22 blockchain works to Lacma
Pseudonymous NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici gives Los Angeles County Museum of Art "largest collection of its kind in a US museum"
Acquisitions round up: Art Institute of Chicago acquires Magdalena Abakanowicz's horsehair wall hangings
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide