HMA’s permanent collection:

The permanent collection of the Museum is comprised of over 3,200 objects, primarily focused on 19th and 20th century American art with an emphasis on art from the Southeast.  African, Asian and European art, from cultures influential on American Art, is the Museum’s secondary collecting focus.  The collection holds some 400 works on paper by 20th century artists such as James McNeil Whistler, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol.  A regionally significant collection of American artists with ties to Alabama include works by William Christenberry, David Parrish and Stephen Rolfe Powell.

Since 1998, nearly 70 contemporary works in wood, glass, metal, clay and fiber have been added to the collection including works by Dale Chihuly, William Morris and Philip Moulthrop.  In 2008, the Museum acquired the prestigious Sellars Collection of Art by American Women, a landmark gathering of over 400 paintings, drawings and sculptures that heralds achievements of more than 250 American women artists active between 1850 and 1940.

An eclectic holding of more than 600 works in various media form the remainder of the collection, such as the unique assembly of sterling silver animals created by the luxury Italian jewelry firm of Buccellati; European and Japanese prints; Chinese snuff bottles; carved African objects; and other valuable community resources that affirm the artistic heritage and provide context for American achievements in the arts.