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COLLECTING AFRICAN ART
Private collectors of art often play a crucial role in the development of museum collections. The vast majority of the works in these galleries were given to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1989 by the Indiana businessman Harrison Eiteljorg (1903–1997). Well known for his pivotal collection of American art of the West, Eiteljorg first became interested in African art in 1965. During the several decades he spent assembling this eminent collection, Eiteljorg was guided by Dr. Roy Sieber, a professor at Indiana University who was America's first African art historian and greatly influential in the field. Eiteljong enjoyed the process of collecting, and many works reflect his personal values and interests. Among Eiteljorg's notable contributions to the field of African art was the purchase of works from important early modern African artists. |