collectors among us | A celebration of community giving

This exhibition closed January 7, 2023
Great Gallery, 2nd Floor

View the works in the exhibition on our online collection database here.

This fall the museum will feature an exhibition of works of art from its permanent collection and share their unique history and provenance. Who were the generous donors that gifted these pieces to the ZMA? This temporary exhibition explores these collectors among us who helped shape the museum’s unique art collection.

For nearly ninety years, the Zanesville Museum of Art has been acquiring, caring for, and displaying art created in this city and around the globe. The museum’s permanent collection includes over nine-thousand paintings, sculptures, and decorative art objects, nearly one quarter of which are gifts from generous art donors and collectors.

This fall, the ZMA signature exhibition explores the story behind several of these gifts and the collectors among us who generously donated to the museum allowing the art and historical objects to be preserved for posterity, discovered by new audiences, and appreciated by all. This exhibition is the first of its kind at the museum focusing on the importance of the collectors‘ relationship with the art they donated. In many instances, their unique connection to the objects influences and shapes the works’ cultural and artistic value.

Over the last several years, while the ZMA had been conducting the site-wide collection inventory of its permanent collection, and with the financial support of the Taylor-McHenry Memorial Foundation and museum members, the ZMA began examining and documenting the provenance, or the ownership history, of each work of art.

The goal of provenance research, one of the most essential yet challenging aspects of collection care, is to verify a work of art’s attribution, authenticity, and ownership. This information is vital to understanding the work’s unique place in history. Too often museum object files are incomplete and alternative resources such as exhibition catalogues, dealer records, and genealogical archives provide rich and nuanced information about the lives of the objects, their owners, and the very personal journeys of both.

The museum would like to thank the collectors of among us who have generously donated art to the ZMA. Their continued generosity strengthens this community by enriching and preserving its local heritage and creative spirit.

Image Above: Jane Reece (1868-1961), Howard Chandler Christy Drawing at His Easel, 1903-1952, Gelatin Silver Print. Gift of Dayton Art Institute, 1964.11185ttt.