It means a great deal to us that you are considering the Syracuse University Art Museum as the home for your beloved works of art. Our collection spans more than 45,000 works of art, spanning over 5,000 years and numerous cultures and geographic locations.
The Museum appreciates the generosity of donors who wish to make gifts of art. Every donation must undergo a formal review process that considers strategic discussion including how the proposed work fits in our long term collecting plan, how it could be used in teaching at the university, and whether we have the ability to give the works the best care at our facility and with our staff.
Once you express an interest in gifting a work of art, our curators will ask for the following information:
- Photographs of the work
- Artist’s name or the name of the culture that produced the work
- Date or age of the object
- The medium of the work
- Dimensions, if possible (if framed, the size of the frame is helpful to know)
- Current location of the work
- How you obtained the work (provenance)
After receiving this information, the staff will assess the works for the collection and be in touch as soon as possible. If the works of art do not align with the Museum’s collecting strategy at this time, we would be happy to make suggestions about other museums or art organizations that might enjoy the opportunity to consider the works.
Supporting the cost of acquisitions and the future preservation of artwork
With our commitment to ensuring that the collection is used actively for teaching, we promise to be careful stewards of your work of art long into the future. To support the sometimes-high cost of acquiring gifts, donors often will choose to make a cash or bequest commitment toward the Art Museum’s annual fund to offset these costs and support the future conservation needs of the works they are donating. Should you choose to support the future preservation of your work of art, we welcome having a conversation about how you can help.
To begin a conversation about donating artwork please contact Interim Chief Curator Melissa Yuen.