Georgia Museum of Art the Recipient of Major Collection

Kudos to the (GMOA). It’s receiving a fabulous collection of African American art work from Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson, who are also endowing a curatorial position at the museum.

Larry Thompson, former U.S. District Attorney for the District of Northern Georgia, initially announced the donation last March, during an exhibition that was part of the 50th-anniversary celebration of UGA’s desegregation.
The agreement between the museum, UGA and the Thompsons was recently finalized. The museum got an initial donation of 100 paintings, prints and sculpture by African American artists, with the promise of more to come.

"Brenda and Larry Thompson, with the gift of these paintings, sculptures and works on paper, and in setting up an endowment to support the collection, allow the museum and its staff to develop exhibitions and programs that will emphasize the contributions of African American artists, too many of whom have been neglected or ignored, and their work, a significant part of the fabric of American art and its history," said GMOS Director Bill Eiland.

According to the AJC’s Howard Pousner, when Larry Thompson, who lives in Connecticut, was asked why he was making a gift to Georgia, Thompson said, “We lived in Georgia for 30 years, and so much of who I am is Georgia.” Larry Thompson joined the law school at UGA this fall as the John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law. Brenda Thompson was a clinician psychologist and a school psychologist, and serves on the boards of many arts organizations.

The Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of the African Diaspora will be a full-time academic professional.This person will oversee the museum’s collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and archives by African and African American artists.

He or she will also publish research, develop special exhibitions, lectures and symposia and other educational events for university and general audiences. The curator will find acquisitions for the permanent collection and will be available as an adjunct faculty member at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, working with faculty from UGA’s African American Cultural Center.

The curator will work with the staff of the museum to enhance public knowledge of art by African Americans within the contexts of American history, of African history and of social, practical and creative expression.