The Harn Museum of Art has been a collecting museum since its founding in 1988. The five main collecting areas of the museum are African, Asian, Contemporary and Modern art and Photography.  The Museum acquires art via donation, purchase and transfer from other collecting organizations. Artworks are proposed by the relevant curator, then follow the Museum’s acquisition procedures according to the Harn’s Collection Management Policy. The final approval to acquire works of art for the Museum rests with the Director, whose objective is to seek objects that further the Harn’s mission, acting upon the recommendations of the relevant curator, Chief Curator and Senior Registrar. All purchases of art are funded by individuals and museum endowments, rather than the museum’s operating budget or through state funding.

In accordance with the Harn Museum of Art’s Ethics Policy, Collections Management Policy and as an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums, the Harn cannot provide monetary appraisals, authentication of artworks, conservation advice or financial advice. The list of sources below may be of assistance.

Appraisals and Authentication

The following organizations provide appraisals and/or authentication services.

American Society of Appraisers
Art Dealers Association of America
International Fine Art Appraisers
National Institute of Appraisers
Private Art Dealers Association
International Society of Appraisers

Conservation Resources

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC)

Donations of Art

If you are interested in donating a work of art to the museum, please email laura.barros@ufl.edu with the following:

1. Inform us if you are interested in donating a work of art to the museum or offering a work to the museum on loan, and, if so, please include the value and ownership history of the work.
2. Include as many details as possible regarding the artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, signature, ownership and other history, and any additional information that may be pertinent.
3. Provide a digital image of the work. NOTE: Do not send original photographs as the museum cannot be responsible for their safekeeping.

Ancient American objects in the collection are primarily from Mesoamerica, Central America and the Central Andes. There is a strong collection of West Mexican ceramic figures from Nayarit, Colima and Jalisco areas. Other Mesoamerican works include a small Olmec head, Mayan ceramic vessels and jade adornments, and a small collection of Maya stucco portrait heads. The Harn also has a small collection of Toltec and Zapotec ceramics and two Aztec stone feathered serpents. Central American objects, mainly from Costa Rica, include a collection of ceramic vessels, whistles, grinding stones and jade adornments.

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The Oceanic Collection includes objects from Melanesia, primarily various regions of Papua New Guinea. Most are 20th century objects from the Sepik River region. Several ethnic groups are represented including Iatmul, Abelam and Sawos among others. Object types include masks, headdresses, figurative sculpture, canoe prows, costumes, vessels, shields, tools, stools, architectural elements, and objects for personal adornment. Two notable works from New Ireland include Malangan area objects, a boar mask and a tatanua mask.

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The Prints and Drawings Collection includes more than 200 works dated from the late Middle Ages through the mid-19th century representing artists from England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Special highlights include Michael Wolgemut’s woodcut from the illustrated world history, the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), Theodor de Bry’s engravings for Brief Narration of Europeans in Florida (1591), and Henry Fuseli’s c. 1818 drawing based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Additional prints of special importance include woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer; mythological subjects by Agostino Carracci and Salvator Rosa; subjects drawn from contemporary life by Jacques Callot and Anthony van Dyck; and satirical prints by Francisco Goya, William Hogarth and Honoré Daumier. The Prints and Drawings Collection also includes a strong representation of naturalist and botanical prints dated c. 1550-1850. These include important works by John James Audubon, Leonhart Fuchs, John Gould, Maria Sibylla Merian, and Pierre-Joseph Redouté, among other artists. Prints and drawings dated after 1850 are housed in the Modern, Contemporary and Asian collections.

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In the interests of improving the collection and maintaining its high intellectual and aesthetic standards, the Museum periodically evaluates its collection to identify candidates for deaccessioning (e.g. sale, transfer, or exchange). Deaccessioning is guided by the Museum’s long-term policies and goals and should not reflect the popular trends of a given period or the personal tastes of the people involved. Proposals for deaccessioning objects from the Museum collection originate with the Director and curatorial staff and are reviewed and approved by the Provost-appointed Committee on the Collections.

The criteria applied to deaccessioning and disposal are as stringent as those applied to the Museum’s acquisition process, and reflect the professional standards and ethics as established by the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Association of Museums. Criteria that justify deaccessioning an object include lack of art historical importance, low aesthetic quality, redundancy, lack of conformity to the Museum’s declared collecting interests, and poor physical condition. All income generated through the sale of deaccessioned works of art will be reapplied towards the purchase of new works of art.

These efforts will allow the Museum to exchange select objects for others believed by the Director and curatorial leadership to be better aligned with its mission.