Acquisition Trust: Celebrating Thirty Years of Building a Collection

This exhibition reflects the dedication and financial commitment of Acquisition Trust members to the growth of the Orlando Museum of Art’s American Art Collection. For the past 30 years, their annual dues have funded the purchase of 45 important paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by internationally prominent and emerging artists. Among the many artists now represented in the Museum’s collection because of the Acquisition Trust’s support are Jennifer Bartlett, John Chamberlain, Malcolm Morley, Phillip Pearlstein, Sean Scully, Robert Rauschenberg, Elisabeth Peyton, Ursula von Rydingsvard and Nick Cave. This collection is a lasting gift to the Orlando Museum of Art and the community it serves.

The exhibition also honors Acquisition Trust charter member Charles E. Meiner who established an art endowment fund in 1995. The Charles E. Meiner Acquisition Trust Endowment Fund allows the Museum’s curator to make special discretionary purchases when opportunities arise. Funds from the Charles E. Meiner Acquisition Trust Endowment Fund have allowed the Museum to add exceptional works to its collection by James Casebere, Sarah Charlesworth, Gregory Crewdson, Anna Gaskell, Josephine Halvorson and Curtis Mann.

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Acquisition Trust purchased two sculptures, jack #3 and jack #4, by Mel Kendrick. Since Kendrick first gained recognition in the 1970s, he has become one of the most highly regarded American sculptors of his generation. His work is in the collections of major museums around the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and many others. These striking large-scale abstract sculptures are indicative of the quality and significance of work that has been added to the Museum’s collection with support from the Acquisition Trust.