The University Museums at the University of Delaware is the collective name for the University of Delaware's collections of American art, minerals, and Pre-Columbian ceramics. The museums are open to the public and are used as laboratories by University of Delaware students enrolled in the Curatorial Apprenticeship Program. The collections are used in teaching a variety of subjects ranging from

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

, to African American studies and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

University Gallery

The University Gallery, housed in the "Old College" building on the north campus, contains more than 10,000 works. One feature of the collection is its extensive holdings of vintage and contemporary photographs, including comprehensive surveys of the works of

Gertrude Käsebier Gertrude Käsebier (née Stanton; May 18, 1852 – October 12, 1934) was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for women. Biography ...

and Clarence Hudson White. Other notable collections include Pre-Columbian and Native American ceramics from the Moche and Pueblo cultures; and a number American prints and drawings from the 19th century to the present. In 2007 the University Gallery took charge of the University of Delaware collection with notable works by Howard Pyle,

Stanley Arthurs Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, Frank Schoonover and

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

of the Brandywine School.

Mechanical Hall

The Mechanical Hall was renovated in 2004 to house the Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art, donated by

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

art collector

Paul R. Jones Paul Raymond Jones (June 1, 1928 – January 26, 2010) was an American collector of African American art. Jones, one of five children of Will and Ella Jones, grew up in Muscoda, a Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company mining camp near Bessemer, ...

. Jones' gift of several hundred important works from his personal collection was the outgrowth of a relationship that University of Delaware professor William Homer established in the early 1990s. The University Gallery mounted an exhibition of artwork from his collection in 1993. After negotiations regarding the conservation of the work and its pedagogical use, including outreach to

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

, Jones effected the gift in 2001. The Jones collection is considered the most comprehensive collection of 18th, 19th and 20th century

African American art African-American art is a broad term describing visual art created by African Americans — Americans who also identify as Black. The range of art they have created, and are continuing to create, over more than two centuries is as varied as the ...

and includes important works by Kofi Bailey, Romare Bearden,

Selma Burke Selma Hortense Burke (December 31, 1900 – August 29, 1995) was an American sculptor and a member of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Burke is best known for a bas relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt which may have been the model ...

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in th ...

, Robert Colescott, David Driskell, David Hammons, Lonnie Holley,

Wifredo Lam Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in conta ...

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", although by his own ...

Hughie Lee-Smith Hughie Lee-Smith (September 20, 1915 – February 23, 1999) was an American artist and teacher whose surreal paintings often featured distant figures under vast skies, and desolate urban settings. Life and career Lee-Smith was born in Eustis, ...

Edward L. Loper, Sr. Edward Leroy Loper Sr. (April 7, 1916 – October 11, 2011)Karen Smyles, producer, ', WHYY-TV, January 2012. was an African American artist and teacher from Delaware, best known for his vibrant palette and juxtaposition of colors. He taught paint ...

Eugene J. Martin Eugene James Martin (July 24, 1938 – January 1, 2005) was an African-American visual artist. Art Eugene J. Martin's art is best known for his imaginative, complex mixed media collages on paper, his often gently humorous pencil and pen and ...

and

P. H. Polk Prentice Herman Polk (November 25, 1898 – December 29, 1984) was an American photographer known for his portraits of African Americans. He also served for several years as head of the Tuskegee Institute's Department of Photography. Early life Pre ...

Mineralogical Museum

The Mineralogical Museum was created in 1964 with the gift of Irénée du Pont's personal collection of mineral specimens, which he had acquired from

George Frederick Kunz George Frederick Kunz (September 29, 1856 – June 29, 1932) was an American mineralogist and mineral collector. Biography Kunz was born in Manhattan, New York City, USA, and began an interest in minerals at a very young age. By his teens, he ...

in 1919. The collection, which now resides in Penny Hall, includes numerous examples of minerals from exhausted mines, including a

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety of colors. The ...

from the Himalaya Mine in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and copper ore from the Quincy Mine on

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

References

External links

University Museums
website {{DEFAULTSORT:University Museums At The University Of Delaware Museums in Newark, Delaware Art museums and galleries in Delaware Natural history museums in Delaware University museums in Delaware University of Delaware Geology museums in the United States Museums established in 1964 African-American arts organizations African-American museums in Delaware 1964 establishments in Delaware