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Museum Collections
Since its founding in 1937 the Museum has made collecting an active part of its mission. The Museum's collections are community-based, as most objects have been donated by area residents. Among them are the Porter bird study skin and the Rowell bird egg collections; the Yale & Towne antique lock collection; the Shulman, Carse, and Yang American art collections; and the Eric Native American collection. A separate education collection serves the needs of the Museum's active instructors and of countless schoolchildren.
SM&NC collects only top quality objects consistent with the collecting plan, exhibition worthy, and in excellent condition. Objects considered for acquisition must have clear titles. The Museum subscribes to UNESCO's principles for the handling of cultural property and will not purchase or accept gifts of objects that may have been removed illegally from their countries of origin. For its Native American collections, the Museum follows federal guidelines and the mandates of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Collecting Fields
The collections focus on five different areas:
The Natural History of New England
The Museum's collections consist of legally harvested specimens that help exhibit the rich variety of life forms, past and present, found in the New England area, as well as those illustrative of our natural habitat. They include mounted animal specimens, bird study skins, bird eggs and nests, insects, rocks, minerals, fossils, herbariums, animal models and natural history prints.
Extinct species' specimens are especially valued for their educational
potential and can only be sold, traded or given to cultural institutions.
Guidelines
- The Museum does not accept gifts of animals displayed as hunting
trophies.
- Donations of bird nests and eggs are not accepted.
- The Museum does not collect human skeletal materials. Any such
materials received in the Museum's early years are handled with
sensitivity and respect.
American Art
 The Museum collects 19th and 20th century American art with special emphasis
on the years between the early 1900s and the 1960s. The art collection's founding core is the Shulman collection, formally given in 1961, which includes artists such as Guy Pene du Bois, Reginald Marsh, Milton Avery, Raphael Soyer, Robert Gwathmey, Max Weber and Arnold Blanch. The combined work of these artists represents the trends and developments that took place in American Art in the first three quarters of the 20th century. The Museum's goal is to strengthen its holdings on these artists and to add examples of those of their contemporaries with similar or higher quality.
The Museum also actively collects in depth the works of two nationally recognized artists whose work falls within this framework and who have a strong connection with the city of Stamford:
Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941)
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986)
The art collection consists of paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs and mixed media artworks.
Guidelines
- The collecting emphasis in this field is on quality rather than quantity.
- The Museum does not actively collect emerging artists.
- The Museum is dedicated to handling its art according to the highest
professional standards.
- The Museum will not collect art which cannot be exhibited because of its
condition or characteristics.
- The Collections/Acquisitions Committee will make case-by-case decisions
on donations of works of art which fall outside this policy.
Native American Art and Cultures
The Museum collects art and artifacts illustrative of the diverse cultures of our nation's first inhabitants, with special emphasis on the people of the Northeast. The collection includes prehistoric, historic and contemporary objects from all of North America. Most holdings date from about 1850 to the World War II era.
The Museum is sensitive to the concerns raised by Native Americans about special requirements of Native American objects held by cultural institutions and fully subscribes to the mandates of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation act of 1990.
Guidelines
- The collecting emphasis in this field centers in the Northeast.
- Special consideration will be given to offers of objects that build on the collection's strengths, such as basketry.
American History and Culture
The Museum collections in this area hold materials illustrative of American
History, from the 16th century through the World War II era. This collection
is particularly suited to the Museum's broader educational mission as it supports numerous topics presented in our educational programs. Collecting fields in this area include lighting devices, toys, bottles, kitchen utensils and other household implements, photographic images, early scientific and mechanical devices, hardware, Civil War memorabilia, Valentine cards and other ephemera.
The Museum's most prized possessions within this field are Stamford-related collections, such as the Lockwood whittling collection, made by George
Lockwood, in the early 1900s; the Smith locomotive, made by Fred Smith in
the 1940s; and the Yale & Towne antique lock collection, once owned by the
Yale & Towne Company, of Stamford.
Guidelines
- Collecting is currently limited to objects strengthening existing areas.
Farming Implements
The addition of a working farm to the Museum in the 1950s was followed by numerous contributions of antique and vintage farming implements from area residents. The parameters of this collection are tools and implements typical of a small New England farm. They include horse-harnessing implements; winnowing baskets; old plows; a dog mill; a cider mill; hay forks; a saw horse; grain grinding devices, etc.
This collection is housed in collection storage in the attic and ground floor of the Hechscher Barn.
Guidelines
- The only offers currently accepted are to the Education Collection.
- The collection does not include engine-powered machinery, such as tractors, combines, etc.
 Education Collection
The Museum's educational mission is reflected not only in displays and
exhibitions but in its numerous offerings in classes, workshops and programs.
The Education Collection was created to enhance the learning experience of
participants in these programs.
Education Collection materials differ from other collection objects in that they are not formally accessioned; they are expected to be handled by instructor and
students, and a certain amount of wear and tear, or even their eventual
destruction, is to be expected.
Education Collection kits are in the custody of Education staff. They are not
insured and their day-to-day transportation within the Museum or in outreach
presentations outside the Museum is not recorded.
Guidelines
- Materials in this collection depend on the educational offerings the Museum is presenting. Traditionally holdings have been kept in the fields of Native American ethnology, American History, Natural History and Farm life.
- Donors to this collection are informed in writing about its hands-on nature and the possibility that the object may eventually wear out.
- The Education Collection includes copies of original artifacts. All copies will be well-researched, accurate representations of the originals.
For information on donating objects, please contact the Curator of Collections office at (203) 322 1646,
X6543 or email rportell@stamfordmuseum.org.
Most Wanted
- Mounted animal specimens from the New England area in good condition (whole animal only) for the education collection.
- Native American objects, photographs and documents from the New England area.
- Artworks, documents, and memorabilia relating to the artist Gutzon Borglum (American, 1867-1941).
- Artworks by Reuben Nakian (American, 1897-1986).
- Artworks from "The Eight:" Robert Henri (American, 1865-1929), George Luks (American, 1867-1933), William Glackens (American, 1870-1938), John Sloan (American, 1871-1951), Everett Shinn (American, 1876-1953), Maurice Prendergast (American, 1859-1924), Ernest Lawson (American, 1873-1939) and Arthur Bowen Davies (American, 1862-1928).
- Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946), Paul Strand (American, 1890-1976) and other master photographers.
- WPA art.
- Social realism art.
- Early American lighting devices.
- Early toys, piggy-banks and other child-oriented objects.
- Early ice-harvesting and maple sugaring devices in excellent condition.
Preservation
 The Museum is dedicated to providing first-rate care for its collections and has an active conservation program.
The sculpture being restored in this photograph is one of The Four Seasons, a group of Italian sculptures in the gardens. While this project has been completed, there are many other artworks and collection objects awaiting treatment, which is very costly.
Individuals, groups, and organizations are invited to "adopt" a specific object by sponsoring its restoration.
For more information, contact the Curator of Collections, Rosa Portell at 203-322-1646, x6543 or email Rosa Portell.
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