Beginning in the summer of 2005, we re-instated our Art To Lend program, making selected peices from the collection available for rental to campus offices at NIU. During an exhibit of available artwork, interested NIU departments can "bid" on their favorites. A drawing held on the last day of the exhibit will determine which pieces will be alotted to which departments. A detailed policy form is available from the museum office at 753-7867 or in the gallery during the exhibit, or by clicking here for a PDF.

The 2007 exhibit will run from June 4 until June 13, M-F 10am-4pm, with a final lottery drawing at 2pm on Wednesday, June 13.

Some photos from the 2006 exhibit:

The collections of the NIU Art Museum are comprised of three separate categories:
The Permanent Collection, The Burma Collection, and The Historical Scenic Collection.

Most of the Permanent Collection consists of 20th century works of art on paper (prints, drawings and photographs), but also includes contemporary paintings and sculpture. Through the generosity of several benefactors, the Permanent Collection has grown to over 1,000 art objects. Northern Illinois University received its first large donation of artwork from Melvin Pfaelzer in the mid 1970s. Other major donations have come from Dr. and Mrs. E. Daniel Albrecht and the David and Sarajean Ruttenberg Foundation.
Recently, a generous donation of Asian art was made to NIU by Richard F. Grott. This collection will be exhibited in the Altgeld Galleries from January 15 - March 7, 2008.

In 2006, we became aware of the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal, an initiative which seeks to reuinite artworks that may have been looted during the Nazi era with their rightful owners. The NIU Art Museum supports this initiative, and has begun to research the provenance (chain of ownership) of objects in our collection which may have been in Europe at that time. Data on pieces in the NIU Art Museum collection can be found by followig the above link.

Some Examples of artwork in the Permanent Collection:

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							1. artist unknown, 19th century Japanese woodcut, 9 3/4 x 14 1/8 ", 1973.3
							2. Rembrandt van Rijn, Circumcision in the Stable, 1654, 4 x 5 3/4", 1974.130
							3. Henry Moore, Sculptural Ideas, 1980, color aquatint, 10 1/4 x 13 3/8", 1984.14.1
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							4. James Rosenquist, Fly, 1981, offset lithograph, 34 x 33", 1993.11
							5. William Hogarth, England (from France & England), 1756, etching, 12 5/8 x 14 5/8", 1975.2
							6. Fernand Leger, Les Dominoes, color aquatint, 19 x 12 7/8", 1975.87
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