Galleries + Permanent Collections

Permanent Collection

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Learn more about the different gallery spaces and permanent collections at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

View our galleries and permanent collections

July 23, 2025 - October 2026

Navigating Knowledge

This exhibition explores vessels and navigation as metaphors for the containment and transmission of knowledge. From religious doctrine and scientific theories to historical narratives and ancient philosophies, the works presented consider how ideas spread to the far reaches of the world through migration and other journeys.

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Harmonia Rosales, 'Migration of the Gods', 2021. Oil with iron oxide and 24 karat gold leaf on Belgian linen mounted on wood panel. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Blackmon Perry Endowment Fund, 2022.2
Harmonia Rosales, 'Migration of the Gods', 2021. Oil with iron oxide and 24 karat gold leaf on Belgian linen mounted on wood panel. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Blackmon Perry Endowment Fund, 2022.2

May 22, 2025

Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet

'with abundance we meet' is an installation made of ‘fruit’ ('phala' in Hindi) sculptures by the artist Suchitra Mattai that are ripe with possibilities, conjuring wombs and fertility spirits.

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Suchitra Mattai, 'phala' (fruit), 2023. 15 components comprised of vintage saris, rope, and chain, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California; Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.
Suchitra Mattai, 'phala' (fruit), 2023. 15 components comprised of vintage saris, rope, and chain, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California; Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

April 17 - November 17

Summer Art Garden: A Flash of Sun

Memphis-based artist and designer Khara Woods presents A Flash of Sun, an installation of sun-drenched shades, dazzling patterns, and geometric sculptures.

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Axis, 2021, Spray Paint on Wood Panel, 30x40 in
Axis, 2021, Spray Paint on Wood Panel, 30x40 in

Ongoing

In the Moment: Art from the 1950s to Now

Contemporary art can capture the political and cultural essence of our time while contemplating and transcending our everyday realities. As time passes, this art connects us with the defining spirit of an era, becoming a visual record of a moment.

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Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde
Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde

Ongoing

Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)

To further build Memphis' Art Collection, the Brooks has commissioned the Memphis-based artist Carl E. Moore to create a work inspired by our soon-to-be new location Downtown on the banks of the Mississippi River.

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Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.
Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.

Ongoing

Art of the African Diaspora

As conversations around the African Diaspora shift and evolve, so too will this display, aided by the museum actively acquiring works that reflect these varied, global experiences.

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Ongoing

Power & Absence: Women in Europe, 1500 – 1680

This reimagining of the Schilling Gallery explores the representation of women in Europe from around 1500 to 1680, known as the Renaissance and Early Baroque period. Most of the works in this room have been made by men.

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Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Self-Portrait', 1560, oil on wood panel, Memphis Park Commission Purchase, 43.11
Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Self-Portrait', 1560, oil on wood panel, Memphis Park Commission Purchase, 43.11

January 23 - February 22, 2026

2026 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards

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Long Do, Another Day, Senior Division Best-In-Show, painting, grade 12, White Station High School, educator James Dycus
Long Do, Another Day, Senior Division Best-In-Show, painting, grade 12, White Station High School, educator James Dycus

On view through January 12, 2020

Claire Van Vliet: Illustrating Babel

In The Tower of Babel: An Anthology, 1975, Claire Van Vliet (American, born Canada, b. 1933) observes the human condition by examining the origin of language. This unbound book of seventeen lithographs and one woodcut – on display for the first time – is shown alongside two prints by Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945).

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Claire Van Vliet American (b. Canada), b. 1933 Illustration for The Great Wall and The Tower of Babel by Franz Kafka from The Tower of Babel: An Anthology, 1975, lithograph, 6/100, Gift of Isabel Ehrlich Goodman and Charles F. Goodman 90.19.22f
Claire Van Vliet American (b. Canada), b. 1933 Illustration for The Great Wall and The Tower of Babel by Franz Kafka from The Tower of Babel: An Anthology, 1975, lithograph, 6/100, Gift of Isabel Ehrlich Goodman and Charles F. Goodman 90.19.22f

On view through October 27, 2019

Ernest C. Withers: Baseball Photographs

With baseball as the focus, from Little League through the Negro Leagues, this exhibition examines African American identity and representation as captured through the lens of noted Civil Rights-era photographer Ernest C. Withers.

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Ernie Banks, Larry Doby, Matty Brusher, and Jackie Robinson with a Young Fan, Martin's Stadium, Memphis, 1948-1949. Gelatin silver print, printed from original negative in 1999. Ernest C. Withers.
Ernie Banks, Larry Doby, Matty Brusher, and Jackie Robinson with a Young Fan, Martin's Stadium, Memphis, 1948-1949. Gelatin silver print, printed from original negative in 1999. Ernest C. Withers.

On view through October 27, 2019

Albrecht Dürer's "Small Passion" Series

Albrecht Dürer (b. Nuremberg, 1471- 1528) has long been recognized as one of the most influential artists of the European Renaissance and one of the finest printmakers in the history of art.

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Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528 Fall of Man from the Small Passion, 1510 Woodcut Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; Gift of Madonna Circle 60.20.1
Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528 Fall of Man from the Small Passion, 1510 Woodcut Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; Gift of Madonna Circle 60.20.1

On view through September 29, 2019

Play Station

Embark on a hands-on exploration of the basic visual components that make up a work of art; line, color, texture, and form. Through every day play, four interactive stations encourage careful observation, imaginative art making, and sensory awareness in all ages. On your mark, get set... PLAY!

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Lucio Pozzi, American (b. Italy), b. 1935. Saint on the Wall and Falling Dog, 1987
Lucio Pozzi, American (b. Italy), b. 1935. Saint on the Wall and Falling Dog, 1987

June 22 – September 22, 2019

Bouguereau & America

Comprising around 40 works by the French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), this exhibition explores the artist’s remarkable popularity in the United States.

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A Young Girl Defending Herself against Love, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825 - 1905), about 1880.
A Young Girl Defending Herself against Love, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825 - 1905), about 1880.

On view through August 18, 2019

Renditions with Terry Adkins: Native Son (Circus)

A sculpture and sound installation by multimedia artist Terry Adkins.

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Terry Adkins, American (1953-2014). Native Son (Circus), 2006, fabricated 2015
Terry Adkins, American (1953-2014). Native Son (Circus), 2006, fabricated 2015

On view through May 12, 2019

American Haiku: The Woodcuts of Ted Faiers

Memphis artist Ted Faiers (1908-1985) is featured in an exhibition of woodcuts, selected from the permanent collection. Faiers is best remembered for his large relief paintings with figures that project off the surface and that are colorful, insightful and satirical;

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Ted Faiers
Ted Faiers

February 23 – June 30, 2019

Natural Curiosity: Beth Van Hoesen

Natural Curiosity: Beth Van Hoesen displays the artist’s process, from initial sketch to polished print. A highly skilled printmaker, Van Hoesen specialized in the intaglio processes of etching, drypoint, and aquatint.

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Beth Van Hoesen, American, 1926 – 2010, "Walt Badger," Drawing V, 1981, Colored Pencil and Graphite
Beth Van Hoesen, American, 1926 – 2010, "Walt Badger," Drawing V, 1981, Colored Pencil and Graphite

Febuary 25 - September 2026

Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020: An Enduring Legacy

For eighty-four years, the Memphis College of Art offered a rigorous arts education to students from across the country and around the world. Through this exhibition of ninety faculty, administrators, and graduates, 'Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020: An Enduring Legacy' reflects on the school’s historical impact and celebrates its continued legacy regionally and beyond.

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Until We Separate, 2019 D'Angelo Lovell Williams, American, b. 1992 (detailed)
Until We Separate, 2019 D'Angelo Lovell Williams, American, b. 1992 (detailed)

June 10, 2026 - Sept. 2026

David Uzochukwu: Bodies of Water

David Uzochukwu: Bodies of Water is a poetic meditation on identity, migration, and belonging. In his first solo museum exhibition, Uzochukwu presents hybrid beings—part human, part animal—who inhabit surreal, dreamlike landscapes. His use of nonhuman features amplifies, rather than diminishes, the strength and dignity of his subjects.‍

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David Uzochukwu, Gurgle, 2020. Archival inkjet print, 40 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist. © 2025 David Uzochukwu. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Gomis.
David Uzochukwu, Gurgle, 2020. Archival inkjet print, 40 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist. © 2025 David Uzochukwu. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Gomis.

Galleries

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Permanent Collections

Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum

Interior with Soldiers
Provenance Research Paintings
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