In mid-January, two of MoMA’s six curatorial departments—Painting and Sculpture, and Drawings and Prints—held acquisitions meetings to usher into the Museum’s collection new artist’s books, posters, fabric installations, painted sculptures, and more. These meetings take place quarterly and, over the course of the year, result in the addition of hundreds of works—spanning mediums, geographies, and histories—to create an overall collection that is continuously evolving.
Last week, Drawings and Prints added 17 works to the collection, by 13 artists including Ed Ruscha, Meg Cranston, Robert Gober, and Jonas Wood. The earliest of the group dates to 1918: a colorful Vibrationist portrait by the foundational Latin American modernist Rafael Barradas. The sitter’s face is obscured by geometric planes of color, but we know him to be fellow Uruguayan painter Joaquín Torres-García, whose retrospective is currently on view at the Museum.
From nearly a century later is Kara Walker’s monumental triptych 40 Acres of Mules, drawn in charcoal, shown here.

Kara Walker. 40 Acres of Mules. 2015. Charcoal on three sheets of paper, each approximately: 104 x 72″ (264.2 x 182.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Candace King Weir, Agnes Gund, and Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine Farley. © 2016 Kara Walker. Photo courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery, London

William H. Johnson. Three Girls. 1941. Oil on wood panel, 17 ½ x 12 ½” (44.5 x 31.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2016 Johnson Estate. Photo courtesy Alexandre Gallery
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be spotlighting some of these exciting new additions to the collection. Get updates and behind-the-scenes insights about new acquisitions here and on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter using #MoMAcollects. We’re also continuing to feature last month’s acquisitions by the Media and Performance Art Department, such as Simone Forti’s landmark 1960s Dance Constructions. For all recent additions to the collection, visit the website.