Registrar Support

Registrar Support

Learn more about our registrar support areas.

If a service isn't available through the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, we've provided alternative suggestions.

Learn more about our registrar support areas.

November 23rd

The Human Zoo by Kent Monkman

Experience the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s latest acquisition: The Human Zoo (2015) by Cree artist Kent Monkman (b. 1965).

Learn More
Kent Monkman, The Human Zoo, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum Purchase. 2022.7a-e
Kent Monkman, The Human Zoo, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum Purchase. 2022.7a-e

Opening May 20

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.

Learn More
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

May 12th - July/August 2023

Sense-ational!: The Art of the Five Senses

Explore how artists convey sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch in their masterpieces. This interactive exhibit will highlight art from Memphis’s art collection ranging from floral watercolor to Cubist prints. 

Learn More
Walter I. Anderson (American (active in Mississippi), 1903 - 1965), Floral Decorative, 1951, Watercolor, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery purchase, funds provided by the Memphis Park Commission, the Brooks Fine Arts Foundation and Mrs. Walter I. Anderson, 69.7.2
Walter I. Anderson (American (active in Mississippi), 1903 - 1965), Floral Decorative, 1951, Watercolor, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery purchase, funds provided by the Memphis Park Commission, the Brooks Fine Arts Foundation and Mrs. Walter I. Anderson, 69.7.2

February 15th - April 30th

Art Builds Creativity

This dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2022-23 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program.

Learn More

January 27 - October 29, 2023

Tommy Kha: Eye is Another

This site-specific, photography-based installation by artist Tommy Kha explores themes of identity, (in)visibility, and sense of place and is presented as part of the inaugural, state-wide Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art organized by Tristar Arts.

Learn More
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable

March 10 - June 25, 2023

Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative

Through her visceral paintings that weave the tales of West African Yorùbà religion, Greco-Roman mythology, and Christianity with artistic techniques of European Old Masters, Harmonia Rosales rewrites the narrative from her perspective in a way that bridges the vastest of oceans and collapses the passing of millennia.

Learn More
Harmonia Rosales, 'Migration of the Gods', 2021 Oil with iron oxide and 24 karat gold leaf on Belgian linen mounted on wood panel 36 × 72 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 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 36 × 72 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 2022.2

New Acquisition

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.

Learn More
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.

January 4 - August 29

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.

Learn More

June 10 - January 9, 2023

Monika Grzymala

Grzymala’s work challenges the very definition of drawing and the nature of categorizing artworks - where does drawing end and sculpture begin? What are drawings made from, and how do we experience them?

Learn More
Monika Grzymala, Line, London, 2016
Monika Grzymala, Line, London, 2016

Through February, 2023

Henry Ossawa Tanner: The Thankful Poor

This work is one of the artist's last known “genre” paintings—images that depict everyday or ordinary domestic scenes—before he transitioned almost exclusively to religious scenes.

Learn More
Henry Ossawa Tanner, American, 1859 - 1937, 'The Thankful Poor', 1894, oil on canvas
Henry Ossawa Tanner, American, 1859 - 1937, 'The Thankful Poor', 1894, oil on canvas

March 15 - June 5

Paradise Lost: Albrecht Dürer's Stolen Eden

In the 1970s, a woodcut by one of the world's greatest printmakers, the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, was stolen from the Brooks. This print, the Expulsion of Adam and Eve, was part of a complete set of thirty-six illustrations and a title page known as the Small Passion.

Learn More
Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471 - 1528 'The Expulsion From Paradise' (detail), from the Small Passion (1511), ca. 1510, Woodcut, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of W. H. Foote
Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471 - 1528 'The Expulsion From Paradise' (detail), from the Small Passion (1511), ca. 1510, Woodcut, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of W. H. Foote

February 14 - Fall 2022

Faig Ahmed: Secret Garden

Faig Ahmed, the internationally celebrated artist from Azerbaijan, is known for transforming the visual language of traditional eastern carpets into contemporary, sculptural works of art.

Learn More

February 4 - May 15

Andy Warhol: Silver Clouds

Created in 1966, Warhol’s Silver Clouds consists of a room full of floating metallic balloons. The balloons are inflated with a proprietary mixture of air and pure helium, enabling them to float mesmerizingly in the space between the floor and the ceiling.

Learn More
Silver Clouds, 1966. Andy Warhol, Mixed Media Installation.
Silver Clouds, 1966. Andy Warhol, Mixed Media Installation.

February 4 - May 15, 2022

Andy Warhol: Little Red Book

The decidedly unglamorous snapshots of everyday life contained in the Little Red Books demonstrate Warhol’s compulsive desire to capture, collect, and organize his world.

Learn More
(L) Andy Warhol, American, 1928 – 1987, Carroll Mallory, August 1972, Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid) 4 1/4 × 3 5/16 in. (10.8 × 8.4 cm), Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2014.4s (R) Andy Warhol, American, 1928 – 1987, Claude Picasso, August, 1972, Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid) 4 1/4 × 3 5/16 in. (10.8 × 8.4 cm), Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2014.4q
(L) Andy Warhol, American, 1928 – 1987, Carroll Mallory, August 1972, Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid) 4 1/4 × 3 5/16 in. (10.8 × 8.4 cm), Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2014.4s (R) Andy Warhol, American, 1928 – 1987, Claude Picasso, August, 1972, Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid) 4 1/4 × 3 5/16 in. (10.8 × 8.4 cm), Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2014.4q

January 29 - April 17 | April 23 - July 3, 2022

Due South: Ke Francis and Hoopsnake Press

Due South: Ke Francis and Hoopsnake Press is built around seven of Ke Francis’ books that exemplify his work as a narrative artist living and working in the South.

Learn More

January 22 - February 20, 2022

Mid-South Scholastic

Since 1989, the Brooks has been proud to partner with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the national non-profit organization which organizes the nation’s oldest and largest student art competition, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, to host the regional competition and exhibition for Memphis and Mid-South area.

Learn More
Adele Ferguson, 'Pax'
Adele Ferguson, 'Pax'

August 17, 2023 - January 7, 2024

Black American Portraits

Black American Portraits reframes the history of portraiture to center Black American subjects, sitters, and spaces. The exhibition chronicles the many ways in which Black Americans have used portraiture to envision themselves in their own eyes.

Learn More
Ming Smith, Grace Jones, Studio 54 II, 1979, gelatin silver print, 12 × 18 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, promised gift of Janine Sherman Barrois and Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. © Ming Smith, digital image courtesy of the artist
Ming Smith, Grace Jones, Studio 54 II, 1979, gelatin silver print, 12 × 18 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, promised gift of Janine Sherman Barrois and Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. © Ming Smith, digital image courtesy of the artist

November 2023 - October 2024

Rotunda Project: Thomas Jackson

Pennsylvania-based artist Thomas Jackson (b. 1971; Philadelphia) harnesses the wind and lightweight nylon tullein pastel shades to create ethereal works of art that blur the boundaries between landscape photography, sculpture, and kinetic art. 

Learn More
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 34_v2, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, 2021.
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 34_v2, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, 2021.

April 2024 - August 2024

Christian Siriano: People Are People

'People Are People' honors famed American designer Christian Siriano’s electrifying contributions to fashion. Drawn from his extensive archive, the exhibition features bold creations from Siriano’s decade-plus career that celebrate self-expression for every body at every age.

Learn More
Portrait of the artist, SCAD FASH, Museum of Fashion and Film
Portrait of the artist, SCAD FASH, Museum of Fashion and Film

May 2024 - October 2024

Hand-made Paper Works from Dieu Donné

Comprised of an eclectic selection of works on paper, this exhibition highlights recent gifts of works produced at Dieu Donné, a leading non-profit cultural institution dedicated to serving established and emerging artists through the collaborative creation of contemporary art using the process of hand papermaking.

Learn More
John Shorb, Song of Eve, 2021. Linen pulp paint on a cotton base sheet. 25.5 x 18.75”.
John Shorb, Song of Eve, 2021. Linen pulp paint on a cotton base sheet. 25.5 x 18.75”.

September 2024 - January 2025

Brooks Outside: Jeffrey Gibson

Internationally acclaimed artist Jeffrey Gibson’s (b. 1972; Colorado Springs) outdoor sculptural installation Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House serves as an homage to the ingenuity of Indigenous North American peoples and cultures, to pre-Columbian Mississippian architecture, and to queer camp aesthetics.

Learn More
Jeffrey Gibson, Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House
Jeffrey Gibson, Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House

September 2024 - January 2025

Andrea Morales: Run Down Like Water

Memphis-based Peruvian-American photographer Andrea Morales’s (b. 1984; Lima, Peru) portrayal of the Delta South is deeply rooted in the communities she engages with, and because of this, a truer account of this region that is often portrayed through stereotypes, misperceptions, nostalgia, and storytelling. 

Learn More
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.

October 2024 - June 2025

Rotunda Project: Rebecca Louise Law

Rebecca Louise Law (b.1980; London, UK) is known for creating immersive installations with natural materials, particularly preserved flowers. Individually sewn and suspended, viewers are invited to navigate through them, discovering the diverse forms, colors and textures of each specimen. 

Learn More
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb, 2019-2020. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan.
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb, 2019-2020. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan.

Photography Policy

Photography is permitted with no flash for personal and casual use. Flash is forbidden because it has the potential to damage artworks as well as it is distracting to other museum visitors. On occasions, photography restrictions do come up. Visitor Services will inform the public about such restrictions upon their arrival and appropriate signage will be posted at exhibition entrances. Video and tripods may not to be used in any museum gallery. Movie and video cameras also may not be used in the galleries.

Image Licensing / Permanent Collection

Works of art in the collection of Memphis Brook Museum of Art (the “Museum”), although owned by the Museum, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, or related interests that are not owned by the Museum. In supplying images, the Museum is not giving permission to exploit any third party rights. Individuals requesting images have the responsibility to obtain whatever rights or other permissions that may be required from an artist, his estate or any other third party rights holder.

  1. The museum charges licensing fees for high resolution images (tiffs or jpegs) that are provided with contractual guidelines. These fees help fund ongoing efforts to care for our collection.
  2. The Registrar’s Office will provide, free of charge, a low resolution digital image (jpeg) of a work of art in Memphis Brooks Museum’s ("the museum”) permanent collection, if it is available, for educational use or for scholarly or personal research, including a thesis, dissertation, or other school related paper. If you request a work in the museum’s collection that has not been photographed, photography may have to be arranged and this could involve a fee. Digital materials requested for research and educational purposes are not intended for publication, broadcast, or in any medium or for personal or commercial gain. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or exploitation of this material is not permitted. All parties using this material will not infringe or violate the rights of any other party.
  3. The museum is committed to protecting the copyright and other protective rights of creative artists. Some artist’s copyrights may be administered by Visual Artists and Galleries Association, Inc. (VAGA) or Artists Rights Society (ARS).

Submitting Image Requests

Requests must include contact information (name, address, telephone, e-mail), and refer to image by artist/maker, title, and/or accession number. If it is to be published in any format, other information required: title and author of publication; format (book, web, journal, catalog, etc…); Print run and retail price; publication date; publishers name and address; number of languages; designate cover, full page, ¼ page, ½ page illustration; size of digital image required for project (pixels).

PLEASE FORWARD ALL IMAGING REQUESTS TO:

Registrar’s Office / Rights and Reproductions
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
1934 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104
Fax: 901-544-6276
E-mail: Collections@brooksmuseum.org

All requests are subject to review and approval. Costs vary and will be determined based upon intended use, available photography, and preferred delivery method. A quote will be sent outlining these costs, followed by a contract that specifies how the image(s) may be used in your project. Advanced payment required.

Please state whether the image will be used for research purposes or publication. Once a written request is received, an Application for Permission for Reproduction form along with an invoice for the appropriate fees will be sent. Reproduction fees vary, and requests for new photography incur additional fees. Upon receipt of signed form and payment, photographic material will be forwarded.The Brooks will provide reproductions of work protected by the artist’s copyright once permission is granted by either the artist, his or her estate, or the organization handling the artist’s copyright, including the Visual Artists and Galleries Association (VAGA) or the Artists Rights Society (ARS).

VAGA

350 Fifth Ave., Suite 6305 New York, NY 10118
Tel: 212.736.6666
Fax: 212.736.6767
E-mail: rpanzer@vagarights.com
Website: www.vaga.org

ARS

536 Broadway, 5th Floor New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212.420.9160
Fax: 212.420.9286
E-mail: info@arsny.com
Website: www.arsny.com


Appraisals

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is unable to appraise artworks. The museum recommends that an accredited appraiser be contacted directly. The following information is provided to aid in your search for an expert in a field related to your artwork. For assistance with finding an appraiser, please contact:

International Society of Appraisers
225 West Wacker Drive, Suite 650
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-981-6778
Fax: 312-265-2908
Email: usa@usa-appraisers.org
Website: isa-appraisers.org

Conservation

Stanford University's Preservation maintains links to numerous websites providing information regarding the care of artworks. Please click here for online conservation resources. For assistance in finding a conservator, please contact:

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works
1156 15th St. NW Suite 320
Washington D.C. 20005-1714
Tel: 202.452.9545
Email: info@aic-faic.org
Website: conservation-us.org

Before choosing a conservator, we suggest you refer to the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Work brochure guidelines. This brochure can be accessed at conservation-us.org.

Additional Internet Resources:
What is a print?
The Art History Research Centre
Artnet Worldwide Corporation

MBMA Frames Assessment

Provenance

The provenance of a work of art is the history of the object’s ownership from the time of its creation to present day. Gaps in an object’s provenance highlight the need for further documentary evidence to clarify the history of ownership. In compliance with best-practice guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to researching the provenance of the objects in our collection. While the provenance of many of these objects may never be fully resolved, the recent declassification of documents and the broad range of databases, catalogues, and images available on the Internet from libraries, museums, and research centers worldwide, make the chance for success greater than ever before.

Nazi-Era Research

Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi Party systemically persecuted and stripped Jewish people from Nazi-occupied Europe of their possessions. These objects were looted, sold, dispersed, or destroyed. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art began Nazi-Era provenance research in 2002, focusing on all European paintings in the permanent collection that transferred ownership or have gaps in their provenance from 1933 to 1945.

Although we cannot conclude that a work of art was looted or appropriated by the Nazis simply because it has incomplete or unverified information in its provenance, gaps in provenance do indicate that more robust research must be conducted. Many times, these gaps are the result of lost or destroyed gallery records or requested anonymity of a past owner. Several of the museum’s paintings have been researched and their provenance has been established, while others continue to be investigated.

The American Association of Museums has developed a Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal which provides a searchable registry of objects in United States museum collections that fit the criteria discussed above.

Colonial-Era Research

Throughout history, many works of art from around the world were stolen, forcibly sold, or taken without consent as the direct result of Colonialism. The communities whose objects were taken experienced trauma, violence, and loss. Looting is not just an issue of the past. These problems persist globally due to war, riot, shifts in government, organized crime, terrorism, and natural disasters and, unfortunately, looted objects emerge on the art market to this day. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to not only investigating the history of objects in our collection with possible links to Colonialism, but also to ensuring that all incoming acquisitions and gifts have a verified past that align with our ethical obligations.

Click here to see a list of works from the Brooks Museum’s permanent collection that are currently undergoing research due to lapses in provenance. In allowing public access to this information, we join with the international art museum community in the diligent search for items seized or looted. Our records undergo continuous review, and we update them as new information is available.

If you have any inquiries or information about these items, please contact the museum.

DISCLAIMER

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art does not recommend one appraiser, conservator, framer, or other art professional over another. This list includes suggestions of organizations that may be consulted, however, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will not be held responsible for any conservation or appraisals. This information is provided as a resource and is not an endorsement of any organization or individual.

Galleries

You can start your visit to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art online and purchase your tickets before your arrive.

Plan your visit

Permanent Collections

Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum

Interior with Soldiers
Provenance Research Paintings
View CollectionView Collection