The New Jersey State Museum was founded by an act of the state legislature in 1895. Initially it was a natural history museum. It later added archaeology, ethnography, cultural history and fine arts to its collections. It moved into its current facility as part of the state’s cultural complex in 1965 and it became a division of the N.J. Department of State in 1983. It has a surprisingly diverse and interesting collection of works by 20th century American artists. Here are some samples.
Emmet, George and Ella Marvin (The Marvin Family), James Chapin, 1934An Expression of a Silk Town in New Jersey, Oscar Bluemner, 1914-1915Whitewashed Barn, Ralston Crawford, 1937Black Division, Alice Trumbull Mason, 1944
Arrangement, Byron Browne, 1938
Ritual, Norman Wilfred Lewis, 1950
April, Grace Hartigan, 1960
Abstraction, Alfred Leslie, 1954-55
Untitled, Ben Wilson, late 1960’s, early 1970’s
Dream House Wall, Louise Nevelson
Parts of the Face, Larry Rivers, 1962
Female Model in Hammock, Arms Over Head, Philip Pearlstein, 1976
Mel Leipzig, Jonathan Shahn, 2006In the Spirit of West Senegalese Dance with Mary Alice Pace, Lorenzo Pace, 1987-97
off the leash 