What’s Texas Buying? A Primer on What Museums Acquire

It’s not a dirty little secret but a sign of depth and rigor. The wisest, sharpest curators and directors are most proud not of their exhibitions, new buildings, or journal articles but of acquisitions. We’re decorators and scholars but also shopaholics, not sleuthing for bulk but for the singular gems that, I like to believe, define a museum. To me, and I hope it’s not antiquated thinking, an art museum’s work revolves around its permanent collection. It’s the lodestar and the source of civic pride. “I just love that painting” is what brings people back to an art gallery over and over. I tend to judge a curator’s acumen by what he has acquired. If he has bought good things on a tight budget, I like him even more.

I’ll look today at Texas and what some of its museums acquired in 2023. It’s a case study in how museums build their collections. Texas has first-rate museums in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. They’re booming, they’ve got money to spend for art, and, unlike lots of legacy museums in New York and New England, they’re confident, inquisitive places. Many of the stately old East Coast museums straddle incongruent worlds. They’re tired and stressed, and they’re easily addled by fads.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Texas

It’s not a dirty little secret but a sign of depth and rigor. The wisest, sharpest curators and directors are most proud not of their exhibitions, new buildings, or journal articles but of acquisitions. We’re decorators and scholars but also shopaholics, not sleuthing for bulk but for the singular gems that, I like to believe, define a museum. To me, and I hope it’s not antiquated thinking, an art museum’s work revolves around its permanent collection. It’s the lodestar and the source of civic pride. “I just love that painting” is what brings people back to an art gallery over and over. I tend to judge a curator’s acumen by what he has acquired. If he has bought good things on a tight budget, I like him even more.

I’ll look today at Texas and what some of its museums acquired in 2023. It’s a case study in how museums build their collections. Texas has first-rate museums in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. They’re booming, they’ve got money to spend for art, and, unlike lots of legacy museums in New York and New England, they’re confident, inquisitive places. Many of the stately old East Coast museums straddle incongruent worlds. They’re tired and stressed, and they’re easily addled by fads.