Collection The Americas

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Three photographs in a row, the outside two are of a ceramic owl. The center image is a woman in a red shirt using her hands to mimic the shape of the owls' eyes.
Nesting, 2007 | María Magdalena Campos-Pons | 2009:17.1a-c

The museum’s permanent collection offers an opportunity to examine diverse artworks from the United States, Mesoamerica, contemporary Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other areas of the Caribbean and across the Americas. As we continue important conversations about collections development, the museum’s mission and vision, and our dedication to equity and inclusion, diversity, and social justice, we have given special focus to growth in underrepresented areas of collecting art of the Americas.

The American collection is especially strong in Pacific Northwest art thanks to generous gifts from arts patron and collector Virginia Haseltine beginning in the 1960s and a continued commitment since that time to supporting and showcasing the art produced in and by artists from this region. Within the Pacific Northwest holdings, David McCosh and Morris Graves are especially well-represented.

As a repository of Work Progress Administration (WPA) works, allocated by the U.S. Government and commissioned through the New Deal art projects, the JSMA also houses over 300 prints, drawings, photographs, and paintings by American artists on long-term loan.

Collection Highlights

A colorful, surreal artwork featuring a table with two bags of chips—one labeled 'Fritas' with a portrait of Frida Kahlo, and the other 'Dingus' with a similar design. Several disembodied hands reach out to grab chips, with a large bowl of watermelon slices and salsa in the center. The scene is framed with a faux wood texture and splashes of red, resembling paint or blood, with a banner at the bottom containing text in Spanish.
A bronze abstract sculpture with a rough texture and an organic form, featuring a central cut-out section, mounted on a simple white rectangular base.
A vibrant, abstract painting of wildflowers and foliage, with bold strokes and bright colors, depicting a dense and chaotic natural scene.
A mixed media artwork featuring a dark, abstract bird-like figure amidst a flurry of dynamic white scribbles and geometric shapes, with a sun-like form in the top right corner.
An oil painting depicting a public market scene with a central female figure surrounded by people and various goods, framed by an ornate wooden border.