The collections of the NIU Art Museum are comprised of three separate categories: The Permanent Collection, The Burma Studies Collection,
and The Historical Scenic Collection.
Most of the Permanent Collection consists of 20th century works of art on paper (prints, drawings and photographs), but also includes contemporary paintings and sculpture.
Through the generosity of several benefactors, the Permanent Collection has grown to over 1,000 art objects. Northern Illinois University received its first large donation of artwork from Melvin Pfaelzer in the mid 1970s. Other major donations have come from Dr. and Mrs. E. Daniel Albrecht and the David and Sarajean Ruttenberg Foundation. Recently, a generous donation of Asian art was made to NIU by Richard F. Grott. This collection was exhibited in the Altgeld Galleries in early 2008. A catalog was produced.
In 2006, we became aware of the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal, an initiative which seeks to reuinite artworks that may have been looted during the Nazi era with their rightful owners. The NIU Art Museum supports this initiative, and has begun to research the provenance (chain of ownership) of objects in our collection which may have been in Europe at that time. Data on pieces in the NIU Art Museum collection can be found by following the above link.
Through the NIU Art museum Summer Collection Art Rental (NASCAR) program, selected pieces from the permanent collection are available for rental to campus offices at NIU.
Read more about the NASCAR program.