Students Ben Kilmarx and Deanna Ashworth catalog items in the permanent collection.

The collection has a broad assemblage of drawings, prints and paintings from the various schools in the art of 19th and 20th century France including works by Eugène Boudin, Camille Pissarro, Constantin Guys, Eugène Delacroix, Julien Dupré and Henri Matisse among others. This strength is due in great part to Dr. and Mrs. Michael Schlossberg as well as Drs. Yolanta and Isaac Melamed. Both families have made significant gifts in kind to the collection in recent years much to the benefit of our students, faculty, and the greater Atlanta community.

The museum’s permanent collection also holds unique concentration in the field of Japanese porcelain ranging from the 17th to early 20th century. The majority of works in our collection were assembled during the 1960s and 1970s by Dr. John Lesh Jacob. Carrie Lee Jacobs Henderson,  Dr. Jacob’s daughter and granddaughter of Oglethorpe University President Thornwell Jacobs, has donated more than 140 works of art to OUMA. As a result of such generosity, this museum is now the largest single repository of the Jacobs Collection.

Donations

Oglethorpe University Museum of Art accepts donations of artwork deemed to be significant additions to our permanent collection and that serve the curricular goals of Oglethorpe University. All potential acquisitions are reviewed by the museum’s Collections Committee, which considers the following criteria:

• The objects’ relevance to existing areas of strength within our permanent collection or relation to categories in the permanent collection the museum wishes to develop.
• The object(s) are in sound condition and do not/will not require conservation in the immediate or distant future.
• OUMA will be able to provide for the storage, protection, and preservation of objects under conditions that ensure their availability for OUMA’s purpose, and in keeping with accepted professional standards.

All donations are considered outright and unconditional gifts to be used at the discretion of the museum. The donor(s) must provide as much detail as possible concerning the object(s) provenance, including the most recent documentation of transaction. If you would like information about making a donation to OUMA, please contact Elizabeth Peterson.

Academics & Research

Each semester, OUMA offers gallery assistant internships, independent study, and work study opportunities. Collaborative planning with faculty and staff allow for direct course development in conjunction with exhibitions to give students an immersive experience. Students have the unique opportunity to assist in the cataloging, research, storage and display of objects in the permanent collection, as well as those on loan in temporary exhibitions.

In addition to these study opportunities, OUMA now offers a new research center, courtesy of Oglethorpe alumna Karen Head ’98.

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