Art »

Permanent Collection

 William Forsyth, In the Little Room, 1896, oil on canvas, gift of Miles J. and
                                                             Lorraine H. Davis, collection of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

On March 27, 2010 the Fort Wayne Museum of Art will open three new galleries dedicated to the Permanent Collection. 

The American Art initiative is a multifaceted and comprehensive effort to raise the public’s understanding and appreciation of American art in all its periods, styles and manifestations.  At the core of that goal is the ability to permanently display artworks from the Museum’s collections to posit all temporary exhibitions and educational programs in a historical and cultural context.  One of the true highlights of the FWMoA’s renovation and expansion is the opportunity to do just that. 

Visitors will have the chance to progress through American art history from the late eighteenth century through today as they traverse three galleries of Permanent Collection works.  The evolution of American fine and decorative arts will unfold through objects, stories and vignettes of moments in history. 

Time and time again you will be able to visit the Permanent Collection galleries to discover new details and depth to your old favorites. Begin a tradition of visiting these galleries first before you experience what else the FWMoA has to offer!

About the Permanent Collection

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s permanent collection consists of nearly 1,400 American paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs. The museum’s collection includes primarily American created after 1850. Significant works include paintings by Janet Fish, William Forsyth, George Inness, Thomas Moran and Larry Rivers; sculpture by Mark di Suvero and George Rickey; and a collection of 56 Indiana Amish quilts.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s first benefactor was Wayne Knitting Mills’ owner Theodore F. Thieme. In 1921 Thieme donated ten paintings to the Fort Wayne Art School, marking the museum’s auspicious birth. Gifts and bequests of art from private individuals have largely shaped the permanent collection over the years.

When the museum moved to the current facility, built in 1984, approximately one half of the current holdings had been acquired. Through the 1980s up to the present the museum pursued creative means of purchasing works of art. The museum has benefited from purchase awards from area and national foundations and purchase grants from Arts United in Fort Wayne and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1996 the Hamilton Circle was established, consisting of members who donated money to fund purchases, including works by Jennifer Bartlett, John Hrehov and Hung Liu.

Throughout the year selections from the permanent collection are on view in exhibitions that focus on an art movement, time period, medium, technique or subject.

Nazi Era Provenance Research

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is pleased to assist in the world-wide effort to identify unlawfully appropriated objects during the World War II era.   

From 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945, the Nazi regime executed a massive, systematic plan of theft, coerced sale, confiscation, looting, and destruction of art and other cultural property from private citizens and museums throughout occupied Europe.  Some of the finest works were destined for state museums.  Others were kept in the private collections of officials or used as monetary assets.

After the end of World War II, Allied forces were able to return tens of thousands of confiscated works to their owners, heirs, or countries from which they were taken.  Still, many works came onto the international market and were unknowingly acquired by museums and private individuals. 

Following the guidelines set forth by the American Association of Museums, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art has identified the following objects in its permanent collection that were created before 1946, acquired by the museum after 1932, and could have possibly underwent a change in ownership during 1933-45 in continental Europe. 

Similar to other museums, many of the museum’s object records have little detail and gaps in ownership.  The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is committed to conducting provenance research to trace the ownership history of each of these works from the time it was created to its acquisition by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.   Being listed here does not suggest that the works were definitely among those looted during World War II. 

To help make this information available to the public, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art has also listed its works with the American Association of Museum’s Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal (www.nepip.org), a searchable registry of objects in U.S. museum collections.

 Historical Background

From 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945, the Nazi regime orchestrated a program of theft, confiscation, coercive transfer, looting, pillage, and destruction of objects of art and other cultural property in Europe on a massive and unprecedented scale. Some confiscated objects were sold to fund Nazi activities, while others were retained for the private collections of high-ranking party officials.

Following the war, tens of thousands of confiscated objects were recovered by the Allies and returned to their countries of origin. Nevertheless, some recovered objects never made it back to their original owners, and other objects were not recovered at all.

Over the past decade, US museums have recognized that objects appropriated during the Nazi era without subsequent restitution—that is, with neither return of the object nor payment of compensation to the object’s original owner or legal successor—may have made their way into US museum collections in the decades since the war.

As part of the Guidelines and Recommended Procedures adopted by the museum field, the American Association of Museums accepted responsibility to develop an Internet-accessible search tool covering objects in US museum collections that had changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era. The result is the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal.

About the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal

Designed and managed by AAM on behalf of the U.S. museum community, the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal (www.nepip.org) provides a searchable registry of objects in US museum collections that were created before 1946 and changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era (1933-1945). People seeking objects can use the Portal to refine their search. For each registered object, the Portal provides basic descriptive information along with links to additional information provided by the participating museum.