Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn expands collection with artworks from more than 60 artists

The Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in downtown D.C. has added to its artwork collection with works from more than 60 artists from around the world.

Since 2019, the museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art has acquired works ranging in style and media from painting, sculpture, photography, film, installation and mixed-media assemblage, according to a news release from the Smithsonian.

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“Acquiring work for the national museum of modern and contemporary art is an honor,” said Melissa Chiu, director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. “Through these recent acquisitions, we hope to showcase the international through-lines and diverse range of art by the artists who are shaping the course of art history and identify future needs of the permanent collection to accurately represent the 21st century.”

Among the 60 artists now featured in the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection are:

• Jeffrey Gibson, a Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians citizen whose art combines Native American culture with pop culture;
• Amoak Boafo, a Ghanaian painter whose paintings challenge conventional notions of Blackness and gender;
• Paul Chan, an American born in Hong Kong whose works encompass sculpture, animation and performance.

The Hirshhorn opened in 1974; Joseph H. Hirshhorn, whose 1966 donation brought the museum to the National Mall, wanted the art on display to reflect diverse, global perspectives, according to the release.

The museum and sculpture garden are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Other artists whose work has been acquired for the Hirshhorn’s collection since 2019 are listed below.