Your Gift of Art

How do I donate art that I own to the museum?

The Block welcomes proposed gifts of art to enhance its collection. Key criteria for accepting a work include artistic excellence, the potential for teaching and learning, relevance to the collection, the state of conservation, and Northwestern’s capacity to care for the work of art. Northwestern’s development staff can assist you with your proposed gift of art, including information regarding the benefits of bequests and outright gifts for you and the University.

To discuss a potential art donation to the museum please contact Director of Development Elisa Quinlan at elisa.quinlan@northwestern.edu.

About The Block Collection

The Block Museum houses a collection of over 6,000 artworks. With a foundation in works on paper, including prints, drawings, and photographs, in recent years the Block has expanded its collection with acquisitions of contemporary art across media by an international array of artists. Recent gifts and purchases have included videos, sculpture, drawings, photographs, and installations by artists such as Paul Chan, Omar Victor Diop, Felix Gonzalez Torres, Catherine Opie, and Carrie Mae Weems. Building upon these strengths the Block continues to seek gifts of art that connect to Northwestern’s broad curriculum and deepen our representation of modern and contemporary culture globally and from diverse perspectives. Expanding and deepening the collection will allow the museum to better serve an increasing number of academic departments and to offer new opportunities for students and faculty to engage with the collection through class visits, original research, and exhibition-making.