ORLANDO, FLA.- The Orlando Museum of Art has received donations of 90 works from 8 donors over the past year. The pieces include ancient American artwork, abstract works, and black-and-white photography. The artists featured in this collection of donations represent the museum's diverse audience, offering a cultural connection for people with varied backgrounds and experiences.
Carolyn Cabal gifted 30 pieces of Ancient American artwork from the collection of her late husband, Dr. Luis Alfonso Cabal, to OMA in July of 2022. Some of these works are currently on display as part of the museum’s exhibition A Trek from North to South: Exploring the Art of the Ancient Americas. The Orlando Museum of Art’s Art of the Ancient Americas Collection has over 900 works, including objects created for ceremony, adornment, and use in the afterlife by more than 35 ancient South American cultures. The Cabals’ collection of Ancient Colombian artifacts, the majority of which are ceramic, date as far back as 1,000 BCE and focuses on depictions of motherhood, including breastfeeding mothers and birthing figures. Much of the imagery from this region follows the beliefs of indigenous peoples about male and female energies that direct the world order. The Art of the Ancient Americas Collection at the OMA began with a significant gift in 1972 from collector Howard Campbell and is now the most comprehensive among museums in the Southeast United States.
Forty-eight objects by artist Purvis Young were donated to the museum in October of 2022 by Sheldon and Jill Bonovitz. The collection includes paint on found objects, sketchbooks, and works on paper. The Bonovitzes are particularly interested in the collection of works by “outsider artists,” self-taught creators, and were some of the first to collect this category of artists. They aim to provide images to audiences that may not typically see themselves depicted in fine art. Purvis Young (1943-2010) was a self-taught artist who lived and worked in a historically Black neighborhood adjacent to downtown Miami. Working on materials such as discarded scraps of wood, metal, and cardboard, Young developed an expressive and visionary painting style rooted in his experience living in an economically distressed community. Young’s work is often positive and is meant to inspire the viewer with a vision of a better world. A collection of Young’s work was featured in an Orlando Museum of Art exhibition in the summer of 2022, made possible by Daniel Aubry, Jill Bonovitz, and Nancy H. Blood in recognition of Janet Fleisher.
The Estate of Clarice R. Smith gifted a decorative screen by painter Clarice Smith and American modernist sculptor Albert Paley. The collaborative triptych evokes the timeless beauty of design and was the central piece of two exhibitions; in 2016 at the Kreeger Museum in Washington D.C. and in 2020 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, NY.
Exquisite additions were made to the OMA Photography Collection as well. Karen Dawson donated seven silver gelatin prints from the Frederick M. Dawson Photography Collection. The artists included in the donation are Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Andreas Feininger, and Carl Mydans. The photographs capture life during the 1930s, one of the world's most challenging economic times. The images captured by Carl Mydans tell the story of migrant families in the American south. Mydans began his career as a photographer working for the Farm Security Administration at the height of the depression. He was hired by Life magazine in 1936, becoming one of their first staff photographers, along with Bourke-White and Eisenstaedt.
Long-time Acquisition Trust member José J. Cabrera donated a photograph of Cindy Crawford by legendary photographer Ricky Powell, who passed away earlier this year. This gift enhances the Orlando Museum of Art’s permanent collection of photographs with an exciting new portrait.
These are just a few of the donations received by OMA in 2022, all of which are meaningful additions to the museum, enriching its collection and giving the museum more significant opportunities to display a variety of artworks to its visitors.
