Out of the Crate: New Gifts & Purchases, Second Installation

This second installation of the Out of the Crate: New Gifts & Purchases gallery re-opens with some of the museum’s newest acquisitions, chosen by Director Salvador Salort-Pons. This gallery provides a look into the art acquisition process.

Before the DIA acquires a work of art, it goes through a rigorous assessment to ensure its quality and authenticity. Informational materials in the gallery provide an overview of the entire process, from initial research to approval by the board of directors, and the roles various experts play along the way, among them curators, conservators, registrars and technicians.

The works are from various curatorial departments and illustrate the DIA’s collecting strategy that includes diversifying the collection, having art that reflects topical issues and providing opportunities for visitors to connect with both their own and other cultures.

Among the highlights are:

“Woman Supreme,” 1974, Wadsworth Jarrell, acrylic and metal foil on canvas.

Wadsworth Jarrell and his wife co-founded the AfriCOBRA art collective in Chicago in the late 1960s, a group that was seen as the cultural expression of the Black Power movement. The group created powerful images that were committed to making art that was understandable, relevant, and accessible to ordinary people, as opposed to art critics.

“Bridges Over Flint,” 2016, Matthew Brandt, gelatin silver prints, developed with Flint, Michigan tap water, Vitamin C, bleach, red wine. Museum Purchase, funds from the Friends of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

This series of 24 photographs adds to the DIA’s works inspired by regional subject matter and issues relevant to Michigan.

“Untitled,” 1984, Deborah Butterfield, cast bronze. Gift of Madeleine Berman.

This is the DIA’s first acquisition of this noted contemporary artist, an American sculptor best known for her abstract sculptures of horses, which she refers to as “ghosts” because they evoke the essence of horses and her memories of growing up with them.

“The Madonna and Child with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Cosmas and Damian,” 1629, Andrea Sacchi, oil on canvas. Gift of the European Paintings Council

This rare acquisition is one of only two works by Sacchi in an American museum, giving visitors the opportunity to view a work by this master Italian baroque artist in Detroit.

Image: “Spirit of '76,” 1845, Tompkins H. Matteson, oil on canvas. Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund