A growing collection

The closet at the Crisp Museum just got a little smaller.

The New York Artists Equity Association recently donated 151 works to the museum at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus. That bunch, added to the 24 works the museum already owned, brings the total to 175.

The association was formed in the 1940s to represent professional artists in America. Today, it serves as an advocate for artists' issues. It first donated the two dozen pieces to the museum's permanent collection in 2002 in honor of George and Placide Schriever.

Placide's father, Charles Daues, grew up in Cape Girardeau and graduated from Southeast in 1898 when it was the Normal School.

That original donation was displayed for a while when it was first given and again in 2009 but doesn't appear on the walls often. We'll have the opportunity to see them more in the future as part of various permanent collection shows the museum may do.

Museum director Peter Nguyen said expanding the permanent collection will allow the museum to organize shows with specific themes, focusing on one medium or subject. It lets them stir exhibits of permanent works into the museum's mix of touring shows.

The exhibition currently on display features 46 works from the new donation. The new works, which span artistic genres, will stay up until Jan. 29.

The prints, paintings and drawings selected for the initial Artists Equity Association showcase the spectrum of work the museum received.