The tradition of collecting art at Randolph College dates to 1907,
when the senior class commissioned William Merritt Chase
to paint a portrait of the College’s first president.
Louise Jordan Smith, the school’s first professor
of art, played a crucial role in developing the art collection.
A fervent believer that firsthand study of the art of
one’s time was central to a liberal arts education,
she established an annual exhibition of contemporary art
on campus in 1911. It was from this series of exhibitions
that the idea of a permanent art collection developed.
The first acquisition was made in 1914 from the 4th Annual
Exhibition.
The mission of the Maier Museum of Art specifies that
its collecting concentrate on American art. This is
understood to encompass works of art, in a variety of
media, created by artists active in the United States.
The Museum seeks for its collection objects of artistic
significance that are representative of national trends,
that illuminate the history of the visual arts in the
United States, and that exemplify the best efforts of
American artists. The Museum makes every effort to acquire
the work of artists who represent the breadth and variety
of America’s cultural heritage. In keeping with
the College’s tradition of supporting contemporary
artists, that is a chief focus of collecting efforts.
The Museum’s strengths lie in American Impressionism
and in early 20th-century Realism. The collection also
holds an extensive collection of works by the visionary
modernist Arthur B. Davies as well as a strong representation
of work by painter, printmaker, and photographer Ben
Shahn. Contemporary photography and printmaking are
areas of special interest.
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