Museums - University of Virginia Art Museum

The Virginia Art Museum was founded in 1935. Its collection includes 730 African, 180 Oceanic and Indonesian, 2,790 pre-Columbian, and 530 Native American objects. The majority of these were acquired by donation from private collectors in the 1970s and 1980s. The strength of the African collection is primarily in works from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo. The Oceanic collection is primarily from the East Sepik Province and the Asmat Region of New Guinea. Notable pre-Columbian objects are primarily from the Maya culture and the West Coast Mexico regions of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima. The Astor Collection of Native American art was donated by Lady Nancy Astor in 1937 (it had previously been on display in the Astor Hotel in New York City) and includes Southwest pottery and basketry and Plains Indian beadwork. Two or three percent of the collection is on display with the rest in storage, accessible by appointment for study by researchers.