Every year, in the February-March issue, we report on year-end contributions to the Institute, not the least of which are gifts to the collection of important works of art. In 2007, we received 150 outstanding works including 52 paintings by the French Nabis painter, Marthe Orant from the Whiting Foundation.

Collections are the heart of every museum and their primary reason to exist. Although museums today provide many social and educational opportunities, their essential purpose is to acquire, preserve, and present collections of importance and interest to their communities. Since most museum collections, like ours, are formed through gifts from local collectors, museum collections often reflect the intellect, taste, and vision of the community they serve.

The FIA received its first donation of major works in 1931. Back then, there were many Flint collectors who donated works and, before long, the Institute was well on its way to building a collection of importance and depth. The years of the Great Depression slowed the rate of acquisitions somewhat, but during the 1940s and 1950s the Institute acquired important works by American and European artists. A new chapter in the history of the FIA commenced in 1958 when it moved for the last time, into the newly built De Waters Art Center, located in the heart of Flint’s Cultural Center.

In the 1960s, the FIA built the Bray Gallery and installed French and Italian Renaissance art. Over the remainder of the decade, we received significant works including paintings from the Chrysler Garbisch collection of American Naïve Painters, Native American objects from the Pohrt Collection, and African artifacts from the G. Mennen Williams Collection. In the past decade, the Museum has added more than 1,400 objects including important Chinese and Pre-Columbian artifacts, paintings by artists of the Great Lakes, and contemporary American paintings and sculptures.

The collection continues to grow in depth and scope due to, in large part, the gifts of those who care about the FIA and the community we serve. On behalf of the museum and its visitors, I would like to thank all who have shared their collections with the community through generous gifts to the FIA’s permanent collection.