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1. 1 2017-03-08T08:39:35-08:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c How do museums build and unbuild collections? Samantha Page 38 structured_gallery 2017-05-05T11:33:04-07:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
2. 1 2017-03-20T19:27:21-07:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c Building a new collection Samantha Page 10 structured_gallery 2017-05-05T13:07:36-07:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
3. 1 2017-03-28T10:52:43-07:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c On View - Third Level Samantha Page 9 Works of art currently on view on the SCMA's Third Level structured_gallery 2017-05-05T11:59:49-07:00 Samantha Page 4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c

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• 1 2017-03-20T19:27:21-07:00 Building a new collection 10 structured_gallery 2017-05-05T13:07:36-07:00 In 1879, just four years after the opening of Smith College, the school began buying art to support the study of art and art history. Most of the artworks bought in these early years were bought directly from contemporary American artists. These early purchases included paintings by Winslow Homer, Louis C. Tiffany, George Inness, and Thomas Eakins.
  
  
  In 1920, the museum finally developed its first official collecting policy, which focused on acquiring modern art. This marks a slight change away from American art, which was similar to other interests in the art world at the time.[1] 
  
  
  
  
   
  [1] “History,” Smith College Museum of Art, accessed November 29, 2015, http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/Collections/History.
• 1 2017-03-28T08:13:53-07:00 How to Read a Museum Label 8 This will help you navigate the SCMA and other museums plain 2017-05-05T11:47:10-07:00 Reading labels in an art museum helps visitors navigate the galleries. Labels usually share what is known as "tombstone information." This is the basic information about an artwork that helps new museum-goers and art experts alike understand what they are looking at. 
  
  An important piece of information often included on labels is the acquisition information, or how the artwork got to the museum's collection. This may include an accession number (such as SC 1879:1) and the credit line, which will share a bit about how the museum got the artwork—for example, if the museum bought the artwork or received it as a donation, exchange, or transfer. 
  
  Let's look at accession number for Thomas Eakins's In Grandmother's Time, for an example. The "SC" means it belongs to Smith College. The "1879" means it was bought in the year 1879. And the "1" means it was the first painting bought that year. 
  
  

  Maker(s): Eakins, Thomas Culture: American (1844 - 1916) Title: In Grandmother's Time Date Made: 1876 Type: Painting Materials: oil on canvas Place Made: United States Measurements: stretcher: 16 x 12 in.; 40.64 x 30.48 cm Narrative Inscription:   signed and dated on spinning wheel: Eakins 76 Accession Number:   SC 1879:1 Credit Line: Purchased

  Not all credit lines look alike, but hopefully this helps you start to decode one the next time you see a museum label.