VMFA adds more than 3,000 works to its collection, including Ice Cube
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Roundel with Boy from the Hood from the Della Robske Series. Image: Courtesy of VMFA
Ice Cube is now part of the VMFA's permanent collection.
Why it matters: A sculpture of actor, rapper and N.W.A. co-founder is one of more than 3,000 pieces recently acquired by the museum.
State of play: VMFA appears to be stocking up ahead of its massive expansion project, which is slated to open in 2029 and will add nearly 200,000 square feet to the art museum.
- In the last year, the museum has purchased 808 works of art and been gifted 2,506 pieces from more than 50 donors, per a news release.
- The bulk of the new pieces — nearly 2,000 — are photographs, which were gifted by the Joy of Giving Something, Inc, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting photographic arts.
Zoom in: The notable new pieces in VMFA's collection include:
- "Roundel with Boy from the Hood," a ceramic piece from artist Roberto Lugo, which depicts Ice Cube in a Compton cap, a reference to N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" album — which is now on view in the Cochrane Atrium Featured Acquisitions Niche.
- "The Haystack," a 1882 oil painting by Paul Signac, whose work predated Monet's. It'll be part of the VMFA's upcoming impressionist exhibition, which opens in November.
- "Making Medicine: Coyote (Going Forward, Looking Back)," a sculpture by artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, who VMFA says is one of the "most influential Indigenous American artist of the past century." It's currently on display in VMFA's American Art galleries.
Fun fact: VMFA has more than 50,000 works in its permanent collection, per the museum. When it opened in 1936, it had just 51.
If you go: VMFA is open daily and general admission is always free.