February 3–June 16, 2024

Over the last three decades, the Loeb has made it a priority to add works by artists of color to the collection as part of our pledge to create and sustain a welcoming space in which difference is celebrated. Reflecting our commitment to diversifying the collection and fostering the exchange of ideas, enriching experiences, and varied perspectives through art, six exemplary works in several mediums including photography, painting, prints, and collage, have been selected. Ranging from the 1920s to the twenty-first century, these works represent a small selection of over one hundred works by Black artists that have recently been added to the collection.

These works are also featured in the recent publication, Making & Meaning, which brings together highlights from the Loeb’s permanent collection and commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of this building and 160 years of collecting at Vassar College. The beginning of the collection dates back to Vassar’s founding, making it the first American college or university to include a museum in its original mandate. The publication is an opportunity to critically examine the collection and its formation over time, as well as its relationship to teaching and learning on campus. Support for Spotlight is provided by Mary Ellen Weisl Rudolph ’61, P ’98 and James N. Rudolph P ’98.