Polk Museum of Art

One of the goals of Polk Museum of Art is to stimulate awareness and appreciation of the arts through the acquisition and care of a Permanent Collection.

After an exhaustive review of the community-based donations made to PMoA from 1966 to 1983, our staff and Trustees decided that PMoA could best serve the public by focusing on four collection areas:

• Modern and Contemporary Art
• Asian Art
• European and American Decorative Arts
• Pre-Columbian Art

These collections give all of our visitors the opportunity to experience a wide range of artistic objects: from 2,500 year old vessels made by the Chavin culture in what is now Peru, to contemporary artworks completed in the last six months.

All four collecting areas continue to grow, but the Modern and Contemporary Art area is by far the fastest growing. PMoA’s guiding principle in collecting art is that each object must add to the educational and artistic value of the permanent collection while reflecting community interests. Within the past few years, we have also added artworks from Africa, as well as a growing collection of Contemporary Folk Art.

Follow the links to the right to explore examples of objects in each of the areas of our Permanent Collection. You can also see a few of our newest acquisitions, see a list of all of the artists in our Permanent Collection, and find out how you can help our Permanent Collection grow.