The Peter Norton Family Foundation Gift
In 2016, the Peter Norton Family Foundation donated a collection of works by artists from across the African Diaspora in honor of President Emerita Bevery Daniel Tatum’s tenure as the ninth president of Spelman College. Artists whose works were included in this gift include Sonia Boyce (British Afro-Caribbean, born 1962), Isaac Julien (British, born 1960), […]
The Selma Burke Bequest
Selma Burke (American, 1900 – 1995) was an accomplished artist, artist’s model, arts administrator, educator, and nurse. In 1988, Spelman College awarded Burke with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. She maintained a long relationship with the College, and frequently interacted with administration, faculty, and students. Burke is perhaps best known for creating the bronze plaque […]
The Women Quilters of Gee’s Bend
Gee’s Bend is a small, remote Black community in Boykin, Alabama. The women quilters of Gee’s Bend have created quilts from the early twentieth century to the present. The public first became aware of their work when they participated in the Freedom Quilting Bee cooperative, established in 1966. The quilts of Gee’s Bend have garnered […]
Gale and William Simmons Promised Gift of African Ceramics
Gale and William Simmons have promised a rich selection of twenty-three works from their extensive collection of African ceramics to Spelman College. Created by women who reside throughout the continent, from Burkina Faso to Mozambique, the diverse group of pots exemplifies beauty, talent, and tradition. Throughout Africa, ceramics serve utilitarian and ceremonial purposes. The clay […]
Beverly Buchanan Collection
Beverly Buchanan (American, 1940 – 2015) examined Southern vernacular architecture in her vibrant and expressive sculptures, paintings, and photographs. Throughout her formative years, she often accompanied her great-uncle, who served as the Dean of the School of Agriculture at South Carolina State College, as he visited farmers and sharecroppers throughout South Carolina. Buchanan began a […]
15 x 15 Acquisitions Initiative
To honor its unique mission to highlight artworks by and about women of the African Diaspora, in 2011 the Museum launched the 15 x 15 Acquisitions Initiative, an initiative to purchase fifteen important works of art in celebration of its fifteenth anniversary. This project enriched and expanded Spelman College’s permanent collection. An anonymous gift, coupled […]
Original Exhibition Acquisitions
To honor its unique mission to highlight works by and about women of the African Diaspora, the Museum acquires a significant work from each exhibition it organizes. Many of the Museum’s recent acquisitions have been made possible through the generosity of donors and Friends of the Museum. Such support enabled the Museum to acquire works […]
Black Women Artists Collection
Donald Stewart, the sixth president of Spelman College, made it a priority to uplift Black women’s talents and capabilities in a variety of fields and facilitated the acquisition of works by Black women artists for the College’s permanent holdings. In 1983, he raised funds to purchase several contemporary works by Black women artists and positioned […]
African Art and the Spelman Collection
African art comprises a significant portion of the Spelman collection. This seed was planted when Mabel Murphy Smythe-Haith (1918–2006) gifted her collection of African art to the College. Smythe-Haith was a Spelman alumna and Trustee Emerita, the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for […]
The Atlanta University Center Coordinated Art Program
The Atlanta University Center (AUC) Coordinated Art Program offered an enhanced and diverse arts curriculum to students across the consortium, providing instruction in art education, art history, ceramics, design, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, weaving, and other media. The program also hosted an artist-in-residence program spearheaded by Talladega College alumnus Hans Bhalla, who served as […]
Hale Woodruff Collection
Hale Woodruff (American, 1900–1980) was an artist and art educator who is renowned for works that capture African American experiences. Woodruff’s legacy is particularly important to Spelman College because of his role in positioning the Atlanta University Center as the premier site in the southeast for art instruction for African Americans at a time when […]
