Union College holds over 3,000 works of art and material culture in the Permanent Collection, including significant cultural resources from internationally recognized artists and objects from Eastern and Ancient cultures.

As a cultural resource at Union College, the mission of the Permanent Collection is to enhance the cultural life and the academic programs of the College community. Selections of the Collection are on view campus-wide. Our collection development focuses on acquiring artworks selected with established curricula in mind, to provide students and faculty opportunities to expand their knowledge through interdisciplinary connections, and to further efforts to create an inclusive visual presence on campus to reflect our community and values. Professors may request to use artworks for course instruction, either via class presentations for in-depth examination and discussion, or in conjunction with our online collection.

Our strongest holdings are: Works on Paper, 19th Century Portraits, Asian Collections and Antique Scientific Instruments including the Olivier Models. For more of the Collection, please see the drop-down menu under “Permanent Collection” at the top of this page, or check out our searchable digital database on ARCHES. This resource has only been recently developed, and we will be working on refining it in the coming months.

Access to physical pieces from the Permanent Collection is permitted by prior appointment, and the availability of artworks for examination by Union faculty and students or those conducting research will be based upon the size, condition and current location of the item.

Request Access To the Permanent Collection (PDF Form)

Email your completed form to the Union College Permanent Collection at ucpc@union.edu.

Please complete our Application for Reproduction Permission form to obtain reproduction rights. Please note that not all items are available. It may take up to 4 weeks to process your request. The Collection does not accept credit cards.

Fill out the Application for Reproduction Permission (PDF Form)

Email your completed form to the Union College Permanent Collection at ucpc@union.edu.

Policy Statement:

In order to maintain the high standards of the Union College Permanent Collection (“UCPC”), and to ensure that works entering the UCPC receive the most responsible professional care, the College will accept only those works which are in accordance with the Collection Development Statement.

Our needs and purposes change, but our priority is always the growth and health of the UCPC, mindful of the responsibility of upkeep, storage, and overhead. The acceptance of gifts for the UCPC brings both an opportunity and a financial obligation for the long-term care of the work of art.

A Permanent Collection Committee, consisting of up to six members, including the Curator of the Permanent Collection ex officio (“Curator”), is responsible for recommendations for acceptance of an object for entry into the UCPC. Object(s) may be added to the UCPC by means of gifts, bequests, purchases, exchanges, or any approved transactions by which title to the object(s) passes to the College.

All donation inquiries for the UCPC should be directed to the Curator.

CRITERIA AND CONDITIONS FOR DETERMINING ACQUISITIONS

1. The object(s) should contribute to the integrity of, or enhance, the UCPC.
2. The object(s) should be useful as a teaching tool. The object(s) should possess merit based upon historical significance, social significance, and/or importance of the artist.
3. The object(s) should be in satisfactory condition.
4. It should be within the ability of the College to provide for the storage, protection, and preservation of the object(s).

RESTRICTIONS WHICH TEND TO PRECLUDE ACQUISITIONS

1. There is uncertain legal title and/or provenance.
2. There are unreasonable conditions attached to the object(s) pertaining to exhibition/display, deaccessioning, special care, or storage.

The Collection needs and purposes change, but our priority is always the growth and health of the UCPC, mindful of the responsibility of upkeep, storage, and overhead. The acceptance of gifts for the UCPC brings both an opportunity and a financial obligation for the long-term care of the work of art.

The Permanent Collection Acquisitions Policy

• to make determinations by a variety of criteria, which may include, but are not restricted to, quality judgments, usefulness for teaching purposes, and market value;
• to accept or decline purchases or gifts based on practical considerations and broader goals of collection development;
• to build upon existing strengths of the collection;
• to reflect the College's curricular initiatives;
• to acquire works indicative of new directions in the arts, especially in the area where technology and art intersect.

Collection Development Statement

The Union College Permanent Collection (“UCPC”) is an academic and educational resource of Union College. As set forth in its Mission Statement, the UCPC’s purpose is to "acquire, preserve, interpret, exhibit, and otherwise provide access to works of art," and to enhance the academic programs and the cultural life of the Union College community at large. The UCPC is overseen by the Curator of the Permanent Collection, appointed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Curator of the Permanent Collection and the Curator’s staff are responsible for supporting the Mission Statement and the Collection Acquisition Policy of the UCPC.

As an educational resource, original art objects and artifacts serve a variety of pedagogical objectives, which include the following:

• to inspire creative and analytical work across academic disciplines;
• to teach, through first-hand study, strategies and techniques of artistic creation and production;
• to teach about historical and contemporary cultures;
• to teach museology through the direct practice of museum display and interpretation;
• to make art objects available to scholars, museums, and educational institutions for purposes of exhibition, research, and education.

The diversity of these objectives and the inevitability of change within the institution's curricular initiatives require the Curator of the Permanent Collection to exercise discretion in balancing the UCPC’s various objectives. Therefore, the Curator will periodically re-examine collection development goals in conjunction with appropriate administrative and advisory bodies, including but not limited to, the Permanent Collections Committee.