Acquisitions

The South Dakota Art Museum is a collecting institution. The collecting goals and strategies for the Museum and Advisory Board include:

1. Harvey Dunn Collection - the museum should work to acquire important high-quality, authenticated paintings and works on paper by the artist.
2. Marghab Linen Collection - the museum should not seek additional acquisitions.
3. Oscar Howe Collection - the museum should seek to acquire additional works of his mature style.
4. Paul Goble Collection - the museum should remain open to the possible addition of new works to the collection by the artist.
5. Native American Collection - throughout analyze existing collections with the assistance of experts in the field. Identify gaps and develop a strategy to address methods to strengthen the collection.
6. South Dakota Collections - the museum will acquire works representing the 1990s and continue acquiring current works by South Dakota artists.
7. American Collection - although not a high priority, the museum should continue to seek out and participate in National acquisition programs.
8. Foreign Collection - the museum should not actively pursue acquisitions in this category.

The Collection Management Manual, approved by the South Dakota Art Museum Advisory Board, outlines the criteria for the decisions and processes to be followed in making acquisitions. In all cases, decisions about acquisitions should be guided by:

• The quality of the work.
• The ability of the work to support and promote the mission of the museum.
• The condition of the work. If it requires treatment, the likelihood of a successful result and whether the museum can responsibly assume this commitment must be considered.
• Any special requirements for care, display and housing and whether the museum can responsibly meet them.
• The museum will obey the U.S. laws and its own institutional code of ethics and will follow its own Acquisition Policy, in building its collection.
• Any Native American object has aesthetic, historical and cultural qualities that have to be considered. However, in art museums, aesthetics is the most important aspect of those three.
• Establishing provenance of all artwork for consideration is critical and essential and should be done to assure clear transfer of ownership as well as documenting the history of the work.

Process for Acquisition
All acquisitions require South Dakota Art Museum Advisory Board approval. Proposed acquisitions are considered at regularly scheduled board meetings. Contact Collections Curator, Taylor McKeown at 605-688-5423 for additional information.