According to SayArt on July 29, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has received the largest donation in its history. More than 2,000 works from the collection of Gilbert B. Silverman and Lila Silverman have been added to the museum's permanent collection.
The donation spans six collecting areas, including modern and contemporary art, African American art, American art, European sculpture and decorative arts, Native American art, and prints, drawings, and photography. The acquisition includes paintings, sculptures, photographs, furniture, jewelry, video works, and new media art.
A major component of the donation is the museum's expanded Fluxus collection. The Silvermans were longtime collectors of works associated with the international avant-garde movement, including artists such as Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys. The DIA previously received more than 130 Fluxus works from the Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Foundation in 2008, and the latest gift further strengthens those holdings.
The donation introduces works by approximately 500 artists into the museum's collection. It also marks the first acquisition by the DIA of works by Antony Gormley, Jenny Holzer, Vito Acconci, Diane Arbus, Rachel Whiteread, and Christopher Wool.
The acquisition also includes works by major figures in conceptual and contemporary art, including Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Glenn Ligon, Bruce Nauman, Diego Rivera, and Bill Viola.
The DIA has built its internationally recognized collection through decades of philanthropy from private collectors. Among its major benefactors was Robert Hudson Tannahill, who donated more than 1,000 artworks and US$550,000 to the museum.
Many works currently on view in "Beyond Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts," on display at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts through August 23, are also part of the museum's donated collections. Highlights include Pablo Picasso's Woman Seated in an Armchair, Vincent van Gogh's Bank of the Oise at Auvers, and Henri Matisse's Poppies.
The latest donation is expected to further expand the museum's holdings of contemporary art and Fluxus while broadening the overall scope of its permanent collection.
