A Growing Legacy

Sept. 9–Dec. 14, 2025

Opening Early: Sept. 5, 2025

Forsyth Galleries | Memorial Student Center, MSC 2428

Art donations are crucial for museums as they expand collections, enhance educational offerings and foster public engagement. These gifts, whether from private collectors or other sources, provide access to work that might otherwise be unavailable to the public, supporting the museum’s mission and contributing to cultural preservation. The Forsyth Galleries, after their initial gift of several hundred two-dimensional works and over a thousand pieces of glass and pottery from Bill ’35 and Irma Runyon, has grown through several large and small donations and loans from faculty, Former Students and members of the community. This art complements the core collection while expanding our capacity to share fascinating stories about art made in the late 19^th and early 20^th century in America and Europe as well as the diverse influences from a wider range of cultures that influenced artistic design and technology.

Since 1989 when the Runyon family donated a fantastic collection of 19^th and 20^th century art and decorative art, the Forsyth Galleries has set about amassing a fantastic collection that we enjoy sharing with the community. Those who love and appreciate the collection have, in turn, donated or loaned a significant number of items including paperweights, Asian art, early American pewter, American Brilliant Cut Crystal, 19^th century quilts, small furniture items, as well as additional paintings, works on paper and art glass. This exhibition celebrates their generosity and, we hope, will inspire others to share their treasures with the University. THANK YOU!

To inquire about donating works of late 19^th and early 20^th art or to make a contribution to the Forsyth Galleries, contact Assistant Director and Curator Elizabeth Appleby at [email protected].