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COLLECTIONS

The Permanent Collection of Art

The Museum holds a collection of art and artifacts in excess of 1,700 pieces, spanning 4,500 years of art history. The oldest works in the collection include Etruscan artifacts and ceramics from Indonesia and the Ancient Near East.

The American and European holdings create the majority of the collection with examples of decorative arts, drawings, manuscripts, paintings, prints, sculpture and textiles from the 15th through 20th centuries. Highlights include paintings by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Jasper Cropsey, and Sir Thomas Lawrence along with works on paper by well-known masters such as Wassily Kandinsky, Eduoard Manet, and Pablo Picasso, among others.

JEAN BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT (French, 1796-1875), The Big Tree c. 1863, Oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. William G. Mather. #

The Museum's Asian art collection is comprised of decorative art, paintings, sculpture, textiles and woodcuts from China, India, Japan and Korea. Highlights include a traditional Tanjore painting from India and a large marble Buddha dating from the T'ang Dynasty.

MARATHA SCHOOL, INDIA Lord Krishna as a Child c. 1750, Oil, watercolor, glass beads, gold leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, Gift of Dr. Bala and Chander Srinivasan. SAM #2004.11

In addition, African artifacts, masks, and sculptures, Native American and Inuit art and artifacts, as well as American and Mexican folk art, reflect the cultural heritage and artistic achievements of the significant ethnic communities within the Mid-Michigan region.

MENDE PEOPLES, AFRICA Female Mother Mask Late 19th Century, wood, raffia, and fiber, From the Ben Cox Collection, Saginaw Art Museum, SAM #1991.7EL

The Museum is home to a unique collection of works on paper by Charles Adams Platt, as well as a group of Civil War era sculptures by John Rogers. The Museum also features paintings, photographs and drawings by native Saginaw artist, Eanger Irving Couse.

EANGER IRVING COUSE (American, 1866 - 1936), Indian Warrior Making Arrows at His Fire 1924,
oil on canvas, 33" x 38", Gift of Mrs. George L. Burrows. SAM #1949.36

The Museum houses an expanding collection of modern and contemporary art holdings including prints, drawings, and photographs that are displayed in rotation for reasons of preservation.  The expanding collection of modern and contemporary art includes works by Robert Estes, Jasper Johns, and Claes Oldenburg as well as art by regional artists.