Brooklyn Museum. Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas.

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA) in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by the first curator of ethnology Stewart Culin. After Culin's death in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. He continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. In 1958, Jane Powell Rosenthal supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

In 1968, curator Michael Kan refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects.

Selected curators of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas: Stewart Culin (1903-1929); Herbert J. Spinden (1929-1950); Nathalie Herman Zimmern (1939-1949); Frederick R. Pleasants (1949-1956); Flora Siegel Kaplan (1956-1957); Jane Powell Rosenthal (1958-1967); Elizabeth K. Easby (1965-1968); Michael Kan (1968-1976); Sylvia Williams (1971-1983); Diana Fane (1979-2000); Victoria Ebin (1984-1986); William C. Siegmann (1987- ); Vicki Rovine (1993-1995); Susan Kennedy Zeller (1996- ); Nancy B. Rosoff (2001- ).

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA) in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by the first curator of ethnology Stewart Culin. After Culin's death in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. He continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. In 1958, Jane Powell Rosenthal supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

In 1968, curator Michael Kan refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects.

Selected curators of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas: Stewart Culin (1903-1929); Herbert J. Spinden (1929-1950); Nathalie Herman Zimmern (1939-1949); Frederick R. Pleasants (1949-1956); Flora Siegel Kaplan (1956-1957); Jane Powell Rosenthal (1958-1967); Elizabeth K. Easby (1965-1968); Michael Kan (1968-1976); Sylvia Williams (1971-1983); Diana Fane (1979-2000); Victoria Ebin (1984-1986); William C. Siegmann (1987- ); Vicki Rovine (1993-1995); Susan Kennedy Zeller (1996- ); Nancy B. Rosoff (2001- ).

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of Ethnology, predecessor to the current Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA), in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by Stewart Culin, who was appointed the first curator of ethnology in 1903 and served in that capacity until his death in 1929. Culin collected art and artifacts from the Southwest, Alaska, Northwest Coast, and California regions of North America, and from Europe.

After Culin's death in April 1929, Tassilo Adam briefly took over the post of curator of ethnology. In September of that year, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. Spinden's major collecting interest was in pre-Columbian art and in building collections from Mesoamerican and South American cultures.

Spinden continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Throughout the 1940s, Spinden and Assistant Curator Nathalie Zimmern concentrated on researching, collecting, and exhibiting Latin American and pre-Columbian art. Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. Poor health forced Pleasant's to resign in 1956.

Flora Siegel Kaplan served as the acting curator from 1956 to 1957. In 1958, Assistant Curator Jane Powell Rosenthal was placed in charge of the department. She supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

Jane Rosenthal left in 1965 and the new acting curator, Elizabeth Easby, organized an important exhibition: "Ancient Art of Latin America from the Collection of Jay C. Leff." Michael Kan became curator in 1968, a post he held through 1976. He refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Although a period of financial adversity cut short many activities of the department in the mid-1970s, the department continued to organize exhibitions. Among these were "Folk Sculpture U.S.A." and "Black/South Africa/Contemporary Graphics and Tapestries."

In the 1980s the African collection was strengthened by two important purchases: a beaded elephant mask and a raffia cloth appliquď skirt. A major piece of Indonesian sculpture was also purchased. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects. Substantial gifts added significantly to the department's Andean and African holdings, among them over 200 textiles, ceramics, goldwork, and woodwork from Peru collected and donated by Ernest Erickson and a group of Kuba textiles donated by the Roebling Society, a Museum members' group. In the late 1980s the Oceanic collections increased dramatically due to two major donations, which included a large number of important objects from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.

Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. The final and most visible change occurred in 2001. In the 1990s the department organized two monumental exhibitions. "Objects of Myth and Memory" displayed more than 300 Native American objects acquired by Stewart Culin during his expeditions. In 1996 the department participated in an inter-departmental exhibition of expansive scope: "Converging Cultures: Art & Identity in Spanish America" (1996), which involved curators from Painting and Sculpture and Decorative Arts as well as AAPA.

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA) in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by the first curator of ethnology Stewart Culin. After Culin's death in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. He continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. In 1958, Jane Powell Rosenthal supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

In 1968, curator Michael Kan refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects.

Selected curators of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas: Stewart Culin (1903-1929); Herbert J. Spinden (1929-1950); Nathalie Herman Zimmern (1939-1949); Frederick R. Pleasants (1949-1956); Flora Siegel Kaplan (1956-1957); Jane Powell Rosenthal (1958-1967); Elizabeth K. Easby (1965-1968); Michael Kan (1968-1976); Sylvia Williams (1971-1983); Diana Fane (1979-2000); Victoria Ebin (1984-1986); William C. Siegmann (1987- ); Vicki Rovine (1993-1995); Susan Kennedy Zeller (1996- ); Nancy B. Rosoff (2001- ).

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA) in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by the first curator of ethnology Stewart Culin. After Culin's death in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. He continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. In 1958, Jane Powell Rosenthal supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

In 1968, curator Michael Kan refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects.

Selected curators of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas: Stewart Culin (1903-1929); Herbert J. Spinden (1929-1950); Nathalie Herman Zimmern (1939-1949); Frederick R. Pleasants (1949-1956); Flora Siegel Kaplan (1956-1957); Jane Powell Rosenthal (1958-1967); Elizabeth K. Easby (1965-1968); Michael Kan (1968-1976); Sylvia Williams (1971-1983); Diana Fane (1979-2000); Victoria Ebin (1984-1986); William C. Siegmann (1987- ); Vicki Rovine (1993-1995); Susan Kennedy Zeller (1996- ); Nancy B. Rosoff (2001- ).

The Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences created the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas (AAPA) in 1903. The early collections of the Department were obtained primarily through the museum expeditions conducted by the first curator of ethnology Stewart Culin. After Culin's death in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden was appointed curator and, concurrently, head of the Education Department. Spinden aggressively promoted the role of the Museum in the field of education and successfully extended the department's activities into the New York Public school system through lectures and loan exhibitions. He continued to enrich the Museum's North American holdings by arranging to borrow and later acquire in 1950 the New-York Historical Society's Nathan Sturgis Jarvis Collection of Native American Art from the Eastern Plains. The department also purchased important Peruvian textiles from the Paracas Necropolis in the 1930s, including the Paracas textile [38.121].

Herbert Spinden retired at the end of 1950 and Frederick R. Pleasants was named his successor. As assistant curator, Pleasants had reorganized the African Gallery and began a reinstallation of pre-Columbian objects. As curator, he reemphasized the Native American collections and organized several important exhibitions. In 1958, Jane Powell Rosenthal supervised the rebuilding of the African installation and part of the North American Indian Gallery. In 1960, the department purchased one of its most significant objects, the African "Royal Portrait of Bom Bosh," along with sculpture from the Sepik River area in New Guinea and 33 objects of Dutch New Guinea art. A few years later it obtained the Mujica collection of ancient Peruvian gold and staged the exhibition "Gold of the Andes" (1963).

In 1968, curator Michael Kan refurbished the African and Oceanic galleries and oversaw the renovation of the Hall of the Americas. Starting in the late 1980s the African Gallery underwent three renovations, each designed to improve the space and make the gallery more inviting and educational to visitors. Under the guidance of curator Diana Fane, the department reviewed and reevaluated its collections, initiating several inventory and survey projects.

Selected curators of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas: Stewart Culin (1903-1929); Herbert J. Spinden (1929-1950); Nathalie Herman Zimmern (1939-1949); Frederick R. Pleasants (1949-1956); Flora Siegel Kaplan (1956-1957); Jane Powell Rosenthal (1958-1967); Elizabeth K. Easby (1965-1968); Michael Kan (1968-1976); Sylvia Williams (1971-1983); Diana Fane (1979-2000); Victoria Ebin (1984-1986); William C. Siegmann (1987- ); Vicki Rovine (1993-1995); Susan Kennedy Zeller (1996- ); Nancy B. Rosoff (2001- ).