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Nelson-Atkins Museum Of Art Announces Major Gift

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Kansas City, MO – In November, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opens its new American Indian art galleries featuring about 200 works, including loans and new acquisitions. Today, the museum announced a significant gift from longtime collectors and patrons Estelle and Morton Sosland. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.

For the past seven years, Curator of American Indian Art Gaylord Torrence has led the expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's American Indian art collection. Torrence calls the gift of the Sosland Collection - 34 masterworks, including 32 from the Northwest Coast - fundamental. Previously, the museum's holdings from this region were very, very small.

"This collection allows us to present a very full representation," says Torrence. "This in turn allows us to present each region of North America with very, very fine works of art."

At more than 6,000 square feet, the new galleries dedicated to American Indian art are four times larger than before. They open to the public on November 11, 2009.

Kansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area. I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions. Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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