New to the Collection

For the last 125 years, Carnegie Museum of Art has collected the art of its time, recording artistic innovation in our complex and ever-changing present moment. On the occasion of this significant anniversary, we are proud to present this snapshot of collecting activity with notable examples of contemporary art that have entered the collection since 2018.

Building on long-standing collection strengths in painting, sculpture, drawing, and printmaking, the recent acquisitions presented here push the museum’s holdings in new directions. Major works by Mark Bradford and Sarah Crowner suggest the many ways contemporary artists are actively rethinking how to make a painting; other canvases by Katherine Bernhardt and Charline von Heyl present novel approaches to figuration and abstraction. New acquisitions by Pittsburgh-based Thaddeus Mosley and Pittsburgh-born Mel Bochner continue the museum’s enduring relationships with artists whose work we have collected in depth, while an ambitious etching by Kerry James Marshall complements the museum’s now-iconic painting on view in the Scaife Galleries.

Art history is written in the present. Each new work that enters the collection has the potential to transform our collective understanding of the whole. What will future generations think about the art of our moment?

Artists in the exhibition include Katherine Bernhardt, Huma Bhabha, Mel Bochner, Mark Bradford, Sarah Crowner, Kerry James Marshall, Eddie Martinez, Park McArthur, Thaddeus Mosley, and Charline von Heyl.

Exhibition Images

Mark Bradford, American, b. 1961; Noah’s Third Day, 2007, mixed media collage on canvas; Carnegie Museum of Art, Gift of Milton and Sheila Fine, 2020.63.8 © Mark Bradford, Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Sarah Crowner, American, b. 1974; Opening Violet and Green, 2018, acrylic on canvas, sewn; Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2018.34 © Sarah Crowner

Park McArthur, American, b. 1984; Liabilities, 2015, UV-cured inkjet print on Dibond and hardware; Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2018.35.A–.W © Park McArthur

Huma Bhabha, Pakistani, b. 1962; Untitled, 2017, ink, collage, and acrylic paint on color photograph; Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2019.10 © Courtesy of Salon 94, New York

Thaddeus Mosley, American, b. 1926; Spatial Occupation, 2018, walnut; Carnegie Museum of Art, Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation, 2020.42.1.A–.E © Courtesy of the artist and Karma, New York

Mel Bochner, American, b. 1940; Do I Have To Draw You A Picture?, 2017, oil on velvet; Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2018.52 © Mel Bochner