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Collections

Jeanette Pasin Sloan (American, b. 1946), Mercado Stripes, 1983, Acrylic on canvas. Acquired with funds provided by Mr. Mario Pasin 1984.004

With over 30,000 works in its collection representing many of the principal cultures and periods of world art history, the Snite Museum of Art ranks high among university art museums in the country.  

From its earliest years, the University of Notre Dame understood the importance of the visual arts to the academy. Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., the University's founder, invited Vatican artist Luigi Gregori (Italian, 1819–1896) to decorate the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Main Building, and several other campus buildings. Since then, the collection has grown through generous donations and strategic acquisitions.  

Exceptional holdings include the Jack and Alfrieda Feddersen Collection of Rembrandt Etchings, the Noah L. and Muriel Butkin Collection of Nineteenth-Century French Art, the John D. Reilly Collection of Old Master and Nineteenth-Century Drawings, the Janos Scholz Collection of Nineteenth-Century European Photographs, and the Mr. and Mrs. Russell G. Ashbaugh Jr., Collection of Meštrović Sculpture and Drawings.

Most recently, Owen D. Mort Jr. bequeathed a portion of his extensive African collection to the museum, bringing over 1,000 nineteenth- and twentieth-century objects from traditional African groups living throughout the continent to the Museum.

Other collection strengths include Olmec and Pre-classic Mesoamerican art, Modern and Contemporary art, and Northern Native American art.   

More information on the museum's collections can be found in our collection catalogue Selected Works PDF

The Charles B. Hayes Family Sculpture Park is an extension of the Museum's collection in an outdoor setting. Located at the northeast corner of Angela Boulevard and Eddy Street on the campus's southern edge, the Park is a public space for contemplating nature and art. Planted with indigenous trees, shrubs, and prairie grass, it is the home of monumental sculptures by artists as diverse as Deborah Butterfield, George Rickey, Peter Randall-Page, Stephen De Staebler, and Richard Hunt.

As a member of both the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Museum is an active participant of the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal, which provides a searchable registry of objects in U.S. museum collections that changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era (1933–1945). Nazi-era provenance questions should be directed to the associate director, Ann M. Knoll (see staff list for contact information).