Gifts of Art

Benefits of giving a work of art to the Museum of Art and Archaeology include:

Satisfaction and pride in knowing that your artworks will be treasured, preserved and interpreted for the benefit of future generations by a leading research and teaching museum

A charitable deduction for tax purposes to the extent allowed by law

Individual gift credit for both the University's Jefferson Club and the College of Arts and Science Mosaic Society.

The Museum of Art and Archaeology welcomes gifts of art to improve its collections. In order to maintain the high standards of the collections, and in order to serve as a responsible steward of the collections it holds in trust, the Museum will accept only works of artistic, aesthetic or archaeological significance which advance the Museum's mission, fit within its collecting and programmatic scope, and for which the Museum can provide appropriate levels of management and care. The Museum of Art and Archaeology and the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri has the right to refuse gifts or bequests.

Elihu Vedder
(American 1836-1923)
Egyptian Scene
ca. 1890
(77.236)
Gift in memory of Mr. and Mrs. William Randolph Benson by their sons and daughters

Donors interested in giving collections to the Museum of Art and Archaeology should contact the Museum in advance, if practical, to determine whether the work or works fit the Museum's current needs, interests and capacities. The Museum does not generally accept conditional or restricted gifts. Donors warrant to the University and to the Museum of Art and Archaeology that they hold and can pass good title of the work or works of art to the Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Under certain circumstances donations of art may be accepted as commodities intended for sale or other disposition rather than for inclusion in the Museum's collections. If it is likely that the Museum might sell a gift in two years or less, the Museum or University should discuss this possibility with the donor to make them aware of potential tax implications. In cases of bequests of objects which do not fit the needs or scope of the Museum, for which the Museum cannot provide appropriate care, or which do not otherwise meet the standards for acquisition of objects, the Museum or the University of Missouri may ask the executor or administrator of the donor's estate to sell the asset and remit proceeds to the Museum, or to the University of Missouri for the use and benefit of the Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Assemblage in Honor of the God Eshu, the Trickster
(late 19th-early 20th century)
Nigeria, Yoruba People
(71.142)
Gift of Edward Merrin

The Museum of Art and Archaeology condemns the destruction of the archaeological record by the looting of sites and illicit import and export of antiquities. In accordance with the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the Museum of Art and Archaeology will not knowingly acquire antiquities or ethnographic objects of art exported in violation of the relevant laws obtaining in the countries of origin, if such export took place after the UNESCO Convention of 1970.

Full information regarding the Museum's acquisitions policies is available in the Museum's Collections Management Policy (pdf) and Institutional Code of Ethics (link when available).

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Ensuring Enjoyment by Future Generations