The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas's permanent collection includes over 1,000 artworks including paintings, sculptures, photography, drawings and prints. Emphasis is on African-American art, Arkansas artists, and art of the Delta. Objects from the permanent collection are often installed in the Museum's galleries and used to curate entire exhibitions. Over time, the online permanent collection offerings will increase.

The Collection
Paintings
Sculptures
Photography
Drawings and Prints
Donation Procedures

Paintings
The Center's paintings vary in mediums. The styles range from symbolist, to figurative, to narrative, to abstract, to realist. The collection includes several Arkansas artists, including the landscapes of Henri Linton. The Center also has the Elsie Mistie Sterling Collection of Botanical Paintings, the largest known collection of botanical watercolor paintings by one artist.

Henri Linton Arkansas Landscape #2 Acrylic on paper

Elsie Mistie Sterling Cross Vine Trumpet Flower Watercolor and ink

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Sculptures
The Center has an extraordinary collection of Art Deco bronze sculptures, known as the John Stern Collection. There are also several contemporary sculptures by regional artists.

A.Gory Figure Dancing Bronze, marble

D.H. Chipanes Cleopatra Bronze

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Photography
The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas has developed a unique collection of photography, ranging from the documentation of the Delta culture to the abstract. The J.C. Coovert collection is historically significant in educating the population about life in the Delta at the turn of the 20th century, focusing on cotton fields and riverboats. The Howard Stern collection of photographs are more abstract in nature. Stern creates extraordinary views of everyday objects.

J.C. Coovert Dock Scene Photograph

Howard Stern Tower Pattern Photograph

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Drawings and Prints
The Center has a growing collection of drawings and prints, including serigraphs by Jacob Lawrence and Red Grooms, lithographs by Miro and Kollwitz, and etchings and ink drawings from Benny Andrews.

Kathë Kollwitz Woman Lost in Thought Lithograph

Jacob Lawrence The 1920's...The Migrants Arrive And Cast Their Ballots Serigraph

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Donation Procedures
The guidelines for donating artwork to the permanent collection are outlined below for your convenience.

The Museum's acquisitions closely follow the stated focus-to collect and exhibit African-American art, Arkansas artists and art of the Delta. To have an artwork considered for the permanent collection, please call (870) 536-3375.

All donation offers must be reviewed and approved by the Museum's Collection Committee. The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas strongly encourages preliminary submission of visual materials of the work (slides or photographs) and any additional materials prior to the review meeting. If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please call the curatorial department.

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