Independent Arts News Reporting “Recent Acquisitions” Features Artists with NJ Connections & More
Reported Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Pictured Above: NJSM “Recent Acquisitions” gallery installation. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: TRENTON, NEW JERSEY
Opening June 14, the exhibition presents some of the latest accessions to the Fine Art collection, many of which will be on view to the public for the first time
Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey State Museum is pleased to present the new exhibition “Recent Acquisitions: Fine Art.” Opening June 14, the exhibition presents some of the latest accessions to the Fine Art collection, many of which will be on view to the public for the first time, including works by artists Robert Smithson, Cindy Sherman, Willie Cole, Melvin Edwards, Nancy Cohen, and Purvis Young. The exhibition is on view on the Museum’s second floor Riverside gallery.
Pictured Above: NJSM “Recent Acquisitions” gallery installation. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Since the establishment of the Fine Art bureau in 1964, the collection has grown to over 12,000 artworks that represent the Museum’s commitment to broadening exploration of new narratives in American art history, while also highlighting New Jersey’s role in the context of a global art world. According to the Museum’s Fine Art Curator, Sarah B. Vogelman, “each of these newly accessioned works either addresses a gap or bolsters a strength in the Museum’s contemporary holdings.” This includes the first acquisitions of works by important artists with New Jersey connections: Glen Ridge-born Cindy Sherman (b.1954) and Passaic native Robert Smithson (1938-1973); as well as under-known Hillside resident Robert Duran (1938-2005), and Mount Holly’s Frank Dillon (1867-1954). Recently acquired works by artists Joseph Stella (1877-1946) and Purvis Young (1942-2010) build upon the collection’s strengths in American Modernism and Outsider art respectively, and expand the possibilities for understanding these movements within art history at the State Museum.
The New Jersey State Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, 9:00 am to 4:45 pm; closed on all State holidays. General admission is free. For additional information visit www.statemuseum.nj.gov, like the Museum’s Facebook page (@NJStateMuseum), and follow us on X (njstatemuseum), Instagram (nj_statemuseum), Threads (nj_statemuseum) and YouTube (@newjerseystatemuseum1895.)
Pictured Above:
Robert Smithson (American, 1938-1973)
Untitled (n.d.)
mirrors
3½” x 2⅞” x 2⅞”
Museum Purchase through a Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Switlik
FA2022.4.2
©Holt/Smithson Foundation, Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York.
Photo credit: Alex Yudzon
About the New Jersey State Museum
The New Jersey State Museum is a center for the exploration of science, history and the arts. We preserve and share stories that inspire curiosity and creativity for the enrichment of our communities. Located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, the New Jersey State Museum is the largest museum collection in the state and encompasses three buildings including a state-of-the-art Planetarium. Established in 1895, the State Museum’s collections in Archaeology/Ethnography, Cultural History, Fine Art and Natural History contain over 2 million objects.
About the New Jersey State Museum Foundation
The New Jersey State Museum Foundation was founded in 1968 as a non-government, non-profit 501(c)(3) to support the Museum’s collections, exhibitions, programs and research through fundraising, volunteerism and advocacy. In recent years, the Foundation has received generous support from the PNC Foundation, NJM Insurance Group, Department of State/New Jersey Historical Commission, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, The Henry Luce Foundation and Princeton Area Community Foundation. The Foundation also operates the Museum membership program, as well as the Museum Shop, which sells merchandise related to the Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and New Jersey history and culture.
