About

The Spencer Museum of Art explores the capacity of art to spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and create connections among people. The Museum, located on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, houses an internationally-known collection that is deep and diverse, currently numbering nearly 36,000 artworks and artifacts in all media. The collection spans the history of European and American art from ancient to contemporary, and includes broad and significant holdings of East Asian art. Areas of special strength include medieval art; European and American paintings, sculpture and prints; photography; Japanese Edo-period painting and prints; 20th-century Chinese painting; and KU’s ethnographic collection, which includes about 10,000 Native American, African, Latin American and Australian works.

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  Mission Statement

  The Spencer Museum of Art sustains a culturally diverse collection of art. It encourages interdisciplinary exploration at the intersection of art, ideas, and experience. The Spencer strengthens, supports, and contributes to the academic research and teaching of The University of Kansas and is committed to serving communities of learners across Kansas and beyond.

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  History

  In 1917 Sallie Casey Thayer, a Kansas City art collector, offered her collection of nearly 7,500 art objects to the University of Kansas to form a museum "to encourage the study of fine arts in the Middle West."

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  Staff

  All staff can be reached through the Museum’s main number, 785.864.4710, from 8:30 AM to 5 PM CST Monday through Friday, in addition to the direct numbers given below, which have 24-hour. voice-mail.

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  Appraisals & Appraisers

  The Museum and museum staff are prohibited from offering valuations, appraisals or authentications for works of art. Appraisals and authentication should be carried out by a certified appraiser or reputable auction house.

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  Rights & Reproductions

  All intellectual and visual content of this Web site is copyrighted by the Spencer Museum of Art. The Spencer Museum of Art and other organizations and persons retain copyright of the individual works of art displayed here.

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  Spencer in the News

  Read what other people are saying about the Spencer Museum of Art.