Something to Say

San Antonio has a long and distinguished history of collecting African American Art. In the late 1980s, Harmon and Harriet Kelley began acquiring paintings, drawings, and prints for their home. Their collection grew and toured the nation, and private collectors and public institutions took notice. The Kelley Collection of works on paper was presented at the McNay Art Museum (2009); followed by the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas; the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska; the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, California; the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania; and recently the El Paso Museum of Art in Texas. Individual paintings from their collection were also lent to major exhibitions such as the Norman Lewis retrospective (2016) and to museum permanent collection galleries. The Kelley's generosity has enabled cultural institutions across the U.S. to tell more truthful and inclusive histories of art.