Idoma peoples, Nigeria, detail, c. 1950, Wood, paint, fur, iron nails, 33.8 x 18.8 x 23 cm, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

National Museum
of African Art
950 Independence
Avenue, SW
202-633-4600
Washington
African Vision:
The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection
February 15, 2007-September 7, 2008

Donated to the museum in 2005, the Walt Disney-Tishman collection is known for its rare works of traditional African art from throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The collection has been instrumental in defining the field of African art history in the United States and abroad.

More than 80 artworks from one of the most respected collections of African art will go on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art Thursday, Feb. 15. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection continues through Sept. 7, 2008.

Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, donated the collection to the museum in 2005. It constitutes the largest gift of sculpture in the museum’s history. Since the museum’s acquisition of the collection, selected works of art have been displayed in the pavilion and elsewhere in the museum, including the 24-object introduction exhibition “First Look,” which closed in December 2006.

“The museum is ushering in a new era,” said director Sharon F. Patton. “It is fitting that this collection, which defined the field of African art for an entire generation of students and scholars, has found a home in the National Museum of African Art. Now the public can enjoy the works as well. In many ways, ‘African Vision’ is the coming out party for this highly revered collection.”

“The donation of the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection to the National Museum of African Art was a dream come true for the museum’s curators,” said Christine Mullen Kreamer, the primary author of a new book on the collection. “With this gift, we expect to enhance and promote research, exhibitions, publications and wide dissemination of knowledge about Africa’s artistic heritage. Using the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection as a point of departure and viewing it through the ever-changing prism of scholarly enquiry, the journey promises new discoveries and lasting rewards. This exhibition is only the beginning of that journey.”

History of Collection
New York real estate developer Paul Tishman and his wife, Ruth, amassed the collection; acquiring their first African sculptures in the late 1950s. The confidence displayed by these early acquisitions continued throughout the next 20 years. Though primarily interested in masks and figures—a collecting practice typical of the time—the Tishmans were drawn to large, powerful works that reflected the diversity of African art. The couple clearly appreciated color and sought works in a variety of media—wood, ivory, metal, ceramic and fiber. The collection, which includes 525 objects representing more than 75 ethnic groups and 20 countries, encompasses most major styles of traditional African art. The Walt Disney Company purchased the collection from the Tishmans in 1984 and made the works accessible to the public through loans, special exhibitions and publications until donating the collection to the Smithsonian’s African art museum in 2005. The donation establishes a depth and diversity for the National Museum of African Art that no other museum in the United States has.

“‘African Vision’ and the accompanying publications are but a start in continuing the tradition, begun by Paul and Ruth Tishman and maintained by The Walt Disney Company, of sharing this great African art with the world,” said curator Bryna Freyer, who organized the installation.

Paul Tishman was often asked why he decided to collect African art. He replied, "How does one fall in love?"

In 1959, Paul and Ruth Tishman bought two pieces of art from the Benin kingdom-an ivory figure and a copper alloy mask. Over the next 20 plus years, the Tishmans would build one of the great private collections of African art. His goal: to acquire works from all the major art traditions in the continent, a dream that would be almost impossible to achieve today.

In a sense, the Tishmans' purchases reflect the collecting practices of their time. They bought primarily from dealers and auctions in New York, Paris and London. The majority of the objects are from west and central Africa. Although masks and figures dominate, the collection underscores the Tishmans' interest in large-scale works, painted sculpture and certain regions and topics, such as works by known hands from the Yoruba peoples or the skin-covered masks from the Cross River region of Nigeria. Looking at the collection today, one can focus on questions of history, deliberate the definition of the ideal human form or covet items of power or status.

Since the mid-1960s, the collection has greatly influenced the study of African art. Through exhibitions and publications, it has helped define African art and set aesthetic standards of quality.

The Tishmans' desire to share the art with as many people as possible would lead to the sale of the collection to the Walt Disney Company in 1984. While the original plan of a permanent exhibition space at Epcot in Florida was never realized, the Walt Disney Company proved to be generous stewards, making the collection available for numerous exhibition loans and publications.

In 2005, Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, gave all 525 objects in the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection to the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. This exhibition of 88 objects and the accompanying publications are but a start in continuing the tradition, begun by Paul and Ruth Tishman and maintained by the Walt Disney Company, of sharing this great African art with the world.

Tsogo peoples, Ogowe River region, Gabon, Late 19th to early 20th century, detail, Wood, pigment, 32 x 21.3 x 8.5 cm, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.