Theresa Pollak. Maxime, 1930. oil on canvas. Acc#72.6 Gift of Dr. Herbert J. Burgart, 1972

With more than 5,000 objects, the permanent collection is an important educational resource for the School of the Arts and VCU as well as for other museums, galleries and art institutions. The Anderson Gallery is committed to collecting works of all media that reflect the diverse classes offered by the departments of the School of the Arts at VCU. Areas of greatest concentration in the collections are works on paper from the sixteenth through the twentieth century, photography and folk art. The Gallery is proud to own one of sixty known impressions of Vincent Van Gogh's etching, Portrait of Dr. Gachet , 1890. It is documented to be the only etching Van Gogh ever created. Additionally, the Gallery has photographic portfolios by such artists as Robert Doisneau, Elliot Erwitt, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Edouard Boubat and Larry Clark. The Gallery is also known to be an important resource for its print collections with holdings by such artist as Albrecht Durer, Harmensz van Rijn Rembrandt, Winslow Homer, Honore Daumier, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Philip Pearlstein, William Wegman, Robert Estes, Andy Warhol and a very important color lithograph by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.

The collection's works on paper illustrate such topics as the Counter Reformation, social commentary of turn-of-the-century France and the Victorian era. Folk art is also an important part of the collection with objects by artists, Ruth Clide Proffitt, Sister Gertrude Morgan, the Rev. Howard Finster and two valuable sculptures by tombstone carver, William Edmondson. A present focus for the gallery's acquisitions is work by VCU's School of the Arts alumni.

The Gallery offers internships to students interested in collection management and registration methods as well as offering the permanent collection to VCU faculty to be used as a teaching tool. Tours of the permanent collection are available to museum and other professionals in the art field.The Gallery loans select works of art from the collection to various departmental offices at VCU as well as to other museums, galleries and art institutions. 

Please see our previous exhibitions featuring our Permanent Collections:

Making Faces, Summer 2002

Selections from the Permanent Collections, Summer 2000: New Gifts