Did you know that FIA owns two paintings that were included in the famous 1913 Armory Show in New York City, one of the most important art exhibitions in the history of American art? Or that the very first work of art to enter the collection, Tunis Ponsen’s The Old Pier, was purchased by the general public through a donation box? These are just two of several collecting stories that comprise this exhibition that celebrates 90 years of FIA history. From its beginning as an art school in 1928, the FIA has grown into the second largest art museum in the state. This growth is attributable to the many civic-minded and generous community members who had the foresight to establish and sustain both an art school and museum.

For 90 years, the FIA collected art and artifacts spanning the continents and 5,000 years. The world-renowned collection is significant for its depth of important European and American paintings and sculptures, as well as its extensive holdings of contemporary craft, decorative and applied arts, and important ethnographic collections. The collection began in 1929 and now numbers more than 8,000 objects—from ancient to contemporary. It is our most enduring legacy, one that reveals the interests of a community that has had such an impressive and lasting influence on American industry and design.

This exhibition reveals the behind-the-scenes stories about how important artworks came into the collection over the past nine decades, with special attention paid to significant donors and giving legacies.

Image: Leon Kroll, American, 1884 – 1974. Terminal Yards, 1913. Oil on canvas. 46 × 52 1/8 in. (116.8 × 132.4 cm). Framed: 51 1/2 × 57 1/2 × 1 7/8 in. (130.8 × 146.1 × 4.8 cm). Gift of Mrs. Arthur Jerome Eddy