MEMPHIS, TENN.- This fall, Dixon Gallery and Gardens presents “An Investment in Pleasure: Fifty Years of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Collection,” celebrating the museum’s permanent collection. On view in the main galleries from Sept. 20 to Jan. 10, 2027, the exhibition features works of art from founders Margaret and Hugo Dixon and acquisitions made by the museum during its 50 years, including works purchased by the Curator’s Circle. Installing more works than ever before in its galleries, this display features more than 100 pieces in the order in which they came to the permanent collection.
The Dixons spent a lifetime collecting high-quality fine-art pieces, considering each object “an investment in pleasure” – something to uplift and inspire them every day. Since the museum’s 1976 founding, the Dixons' personal investments have served as a guiding principle for its collection-building. Expanding the couple’s legacy, the Dixon’s founding director, Michael Milkovich, added several works from Impressionist painters. Additionally, his successor, John Buchanan, negotiated spectacular acquisitions by artists like Jean-Louis Forain and Claude Monet during the 1990s.
“What started as a small collection of 27 paintings, two works on paper, and six sculptures from the Dixons has now grown into a collection of more than 2,000 objects,” said Kevin Sharp, Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea Director. “Their initial bequest set the museum’s artistic foundation and continues to guide and motivate us as we further assemble and build the permanent collection – all belonging to a small, publicly accessible museum in the heart of Memphis.”
With an emphasis on French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, the collection boasts names like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, and Elizabeth Nourse. Additionally, it includes an extensive collection of 18th-century German porcelain, 18th- and 19th-century English ceramics, and more than 300 utilitarian, commemorative, and decorative pewter objects spanning the 17th to 20th centuries.
Under Sharp’s 19 years of leadership, the Dixon expanded its permanent collection by more than 600 pieces of fine and decorative art. The Curator’s Circle, established in 2016, marked a new way for the museum to acquire pieces from influential, world-renowned artists, and it invited donors to take part in the decision-making process. Every autumn, participants vote on works of art under consideration for the collection, building upon its strong foundation to tell a more well-rounded story of the development of modern art. Last year, it added a painting by Childe Hassam – a perfect representation of adaptation and interpretation of French Impressionism in the U.S. – and one by Françoise Gilot, adding to the number of women artists represented at the museum.
“As we conclude the 50th anniversary of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, it is fitting that we have an exhibition that truly celebrates the heart of our institution – our permanent collection,” said Julie Pierotti, the Dixon’s Martha R. Robinson Curator. “Seeing the chronology of how these special works of art came to call Memphis home will truly give visitors a sense of the amazing growth of the museum and inspire excitement for our future.”
Visitors are encouraged to dive deeper into the collection with “Making an Impression,” also on view in the Interactive Gallery, Sept 20 to Jan. 10. As part of its 50th anniversary, all exhibitions presented at the Dixon this year are organized by the museum.
