Creating a Collection: A Tour Through the Smith College Museum of ArtMain MenuHow do museums build and unbuild collections?How This WorksInstructions on How to Use this WebsiteHow to Read a Museum LabelThis will help you navigate the SCMA and other museumsWhat is "Public Trust"?Why Museums CollectHow Museums CollectWhy Museums Remove Objects from their CollectionsHow Museums Remove Objects from their CollectionsSamantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
Gallery picture - early SCMA
12017-04-02T11:14:04-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c156233This photograph shows an early installation in of Smith's art collectionplain2017-04-19T16:43:06-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
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12017-04-19T16:44:41-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5cDwight W. Tryon's "Dawn"Samantha Page7plain2017-04-19T16:50:44-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
12017-04-19T16:43:45-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5cChilde Hassam's "Church at Old Lyme"Samantha Page6plain2017-04-19T16:50:28-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
12017-03-08T17:31:21-08:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5cDeaccessionedSamantha Page21Works of art formally removed from the collectionstructured_gallery2017-05-05T13:14:20-07:00Samantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
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12017-03-20T19:34:38-07:00How Museums Collect16structured_gallery2017-05-05T11:51:09-07:00It's one thing to know why the SCMA collects, it's another to know how it does this. There are many ways the SCMA can “acquire”—get—a new object for its collection.
Sometimes the SCMA buys the art it wants, from the artist or from a professional who sells art for artists.
Museums can also receive artworks as gifts. Sometimes artists donate their art, or sometimes an art-lover will donate it. (Also, sometimes an art-lover promises to donate an artwork after they pass away. This is called “bequeathing.”)
In all of these cases, the SCMA has to be sure that the artwork is something the museum really wants and needs for its collection. Just as removing something from the collection can be a big decision, adding a new artwork requires a lot of careful thought. This is because artworks use the museum's resources—including space in the gallery and storage, money and time for conservation, and thought for developing educational resources for the artwork.
Click on one of the pages below to learn more about how museums get new artworks for their collections.
