The Ridderhof Martin Gallery is a high-quality art museum facility. It displays traveling exhibitions from museums around the country, bringing to the University the art of the past and present from many cultures. Other exhibitions draw from the permanent collection for themes such as “The Artist Looks at Sister Artists” and “Art and 20th-Century War.” The duPont Gallery features painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and textiles by art faculty and students as well as other contemporary artists.
The Galleries’ permanent collection of some 6,000 artworks is strongest in mid-20th century art and Asian art. The Galleries also house much of the life’s work, as well as the personal papers, of New York surrealist Margaret Sutton and Los Angeles figurative expressionist Phyllis Ridderhof Martin.
Professors in art history and other fields often assign class projects and research in the Galleries. Students study the works on view and in storage, and delve into the computerized records and paper files. Students also participate in cataloging the collection and organizing and installing exhibitions.