The Baltimore Museum of Art was founded in 1914. Its 1929 structure was designed by eminent architect John Russell Pope. Eight additions were added to the original structure between 1937 and 1994. The Baltimore Museum of Art is Maryland’s largest art museum with a collection of more than 90,000 objects.
Almost all of the museum’s significant collection of the arts of Africa, the Americas, and Oceania was acquired through bequest and/or gift, with collector Alan Wurtzburger being a major contributor. Its 2,017 African objects were given largely by Wurtzburger and Helen “Muffie” Lippincott McElhiney. Florence Reese Winslow and Richard W. Case were the major donors for the 1,084 Native American pieces. Its 445 Oceanic objects were donated by Wurtzburger and Luther Emory Allen, and 1,346 pre-Columbian pieces were donated by Wurtzburger and Mr. & Mrs. John J. McCavitt. Important pieces of the collection include a demba dance mask from the Baga culture in Guinea from the Wurtzburger Collection, and a warrior’s headdress with train, c. 1930, from the Asaroke (Crow)/Siksika (Blackfoot), which was donated by Richard W. Case. Most of the museum’s significant objects are on permanent display. Additional objects from the collection may be seen by researchers by appointment.