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With baseball as the focus, from Little League through the Negro Leagues, this exhibition examines African American identity and representation as captured through the lens of noted Civil Rights-era photographer Ernest C. Withers.
Learn MoreAlbrecht Dürer (b. Nuremberg, 1471- 1528) has long been recognized as one of the most influential artists of the European Renaissance and one of the finest printmakers in the history of art.
Learn MoreEmbark on a hands-on exploration of the basic visual components that make up a work of art; line, color, texture, and form. Through every day play, four interactive stations encourage careful observation, imaginative art making, and sensory awareness in all ages. On your mark, get set... PLAY!
Learn MoreComprising around 40 works by the French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), this exhibition explores the artist’s remarkable popularity in the United States.
Learn MoreA sculpture and sound installation by multimedia artist Terry Adkins.
Learn MoreMemphis artist Ted Faiers (1908-1985) is featured in an exhibition of woodcuts, selected from the permanent collection. Faiers is best remembered for his large relief paintings with figures that project off the surface and that are colorful, insightful and satirical;
Learn MoreNatural Curiosity: Beth Van Hoesen displays the artist’s process, from initial sketch to polished print. A highly skilled printmaker, Van Hoesen specialized in the intaglio processes of etching, drypoint, and aquatint.
Learn MoreCurated by Donal Harris, Assistant Professor, English Department, University of Memphis and Julian Rome, Senior, University of Memphis Painted Words: Poets and Painters in Print, 1870-1970 showcases three volumes that combine literary and visual art through printmaking.
Learn MoreIn her first solo museum presentation, Calida Rawles envisions water as a space for Black healing. Merging hyperrealism, poetic abstraction, and water's cultural and historical symbolisms, Rawles creates unique portraits of Black bodies submerged in and interacting with bright and mysterious bodies of water.
Learn More'with abundance we meet' is an installation made of ‘fruit’ ('phala' in Hindi) sculptures by the artist Suchitra Mattai that are ripe with possibilities, conjuring wombs and fertility spirits.
Learn MoreFor eighty-four years, the Memphis College of Art offered a rigorous arts education to students from across the country and around the world. Through this exhibition of ninety faculty, administrators, and graduates, 'Remembering the Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020' reflects on the school’s historical impact and celebrates its continued legacy regionally and beyond.
Learn MorePhotography is permitted with no flash for personal and casual use. Flash is forbidden because it has the potential to damage artworks as well as it is distracting to other museum visitors. On occasions, photography restrictions do come up. Visitor Services will inform the public about such restrictions upon their arrival and appropriate signage will be posted at exhibition entrances. Video and tripods may not to be used in any museum gallery. Movie and video cameras also may not be used in the galleries.
Works of art in the collection of Memphis Brook Museum of Art (the “Museum”), although owned by the Museum, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, or related interests that are not owned by the Museum. In supplying images, the Museum is not giving permission to exploit any third party rights. Individuals requesting images have the responsibility to obtain whatever rights or other permissions that may be required from an artist, his estate or any other third party rights holder.
Requests must include contact information (name, address, telephone, e-mail), and refer to image by artist/maker, title, and/or accession number. If it is to be published in any format, other information required: title and author of publication; format (book, web, journal, catalog, etc…); Print run and retail price; publication date; publishers name and address; number of languages; designate cover, full page, ¼ page, ½ page illustration; size of digital image required for project (pixels).
All requests are subject to review and approval. Costs vary and will be determined based upon intended use, available photography, and preferred delivery method. A quote will be sent outlining these costs, followed by a contract that specifies how the image(s) may be used in your project. Advanced payment required.
Please state whether the image will be used for research purposes or publication. Once a written request is received, an Application for Permission for Reproduction form along with an invoice for the appropriate fees will be sent. Reproduction fees vary, and requests for new photography incur additional fees. Upon receipt of signed form and payment, photographic material will be forwarded.The Brooks will provide reproductions of work protected by the artist’s copyright once permission is granted by either the artist, his or her estate, or the organization handling the artist’s copyright, including the Visual Artists and Galleries Association (VAGA) or the Artists Rights Society (ARS).
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is unable to appraise artworks. The museum recommends that an accredited appraiser be contacted directly. The following information is provided to aid in your search for an expert in a field related to your artwork. For assistance with finding an appraiser, please contact:
International Society of Appraisers
225 West Wacker Drive, Suite 650
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-981-6778
Fax: 312-265-2908
Email: usa@usa-appraisers.org
Website: isa-appraisers.org
Stanford University's Preservation maintains links to numerous websites providing information regarding the care of artworks. Please click here for online conservation resources. For assistance in finding a conservator, please contact:
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works
1156 15th St. NW Suite 320
Washington D.C. 20005-1714
Tel: 202.452.9545
Email: info@aic-faic.org
Website: conservation-us.org
Before choosing a conservator, we suggest you refer to the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Work brochure guidelines. This brochure can be accessed at conservation-us.org.
Additional Internet Resources:
What is a print?
The Art History Research Centre
Artnet Worldwide Corporation
The provenance of a work of art is the history of the object’s ownership from the time of its creation to present day. Gaps in an object’s provenance highlight the need for further documentary evidence to clarify the history of ownership. In compliance with best-practice guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to researching the provenance of the objects in our collection. While the provenance of many of these objects may never be fully resolved, the recent declassification of documents and the broad range of databases, catalogues, and images available on the Internet from libraries, museums, and research centers worldwide, make the chance for success greater than ever before.
Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi Party systemically persecuted and stripped Jewish people from Nazi-occupied Europe of their possessions. These objects were looted, sold, dispersed, or destroyed. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art began Nazi-Era provenance research in 2002, focusing on all European paintings in the permanent collection that transferred ownership or have gaps in their provenance from 1933 to 1945.
Although we cannot conclude that a work of art was looted or appropriated by the Nazis simply because it has incomplete or unverified information in its provenance, gaps in provenance do indicate that more robust research must be conducted. Many times, these gaps are the result of lost or destroyed gallery records or requested anonymity of a past owner. Several of the museum’s paintings have been researched and their provenance has been established, while others continue to be investigated.
The American Association of Museums has developed a Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal which provides a searchable registry of objects in United States museum collections that fit the criteria discussed above.
Throughout history, many works of art from around the world were stolen, forcibly sold, or taken without consent as the direct result of Colonialism. The communities whose objects were taken experienced trauma, violence, and loss. Looting is not just an issue of the past. These problems persist globally due to war, riot, shifts in government, organized crime, terrorism, and natural disasters and, unfortunately, looted objects emerge on the art market to this day. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to not only investigating the history of objects in our collection with possible links to Colonialism, but also to ensuring that all incoming acquisitions and gifts have a verified past that align with our ethical obligations.
Click here to see a list of works from the Brooks Museum’s permanent collection that are currently undergoing research due to lapses in provenance. In allowing public access to this information, we join with the international art museum community in the diligent search for items seized or looted. Our records undergo continuous review, and we update them as new information is available.
If you have any inquiries or information about these items, please contact the museum.
Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum