The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have received a donation of over 200 Native American artifacts from the Thomas W. Weisel Family Art Foundation. The gift, which includes important textiles and ceramics, will significantly enhance the museums’ Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas collection. The donation also includes an unspecified endowment for the collection’s conservation and research.
Weisel, a pioneer of Silicon Valley’s tech industry, began collecting Native American artifacts over 30 years ago. His acquisitions have been guided by the California-based artist and Native American art scholar, Tony Berlant. His collection spans more than 1,000 years of artistic creativity and includes artifacts from the American Southwest, the Northwest Coast, and the Great Plains. Weisel is also an avid collector of postwar American art.
A portion of the gift will be displayed in the exhibition “Lines on the Horizon: Native American Art from the Weisel Family Collection,” which will open on May 3 at the de Young Museum.
