This includes a permanent collection of Contemporary Photography (CPW defines contemporary as "living or up to ten years after deceased"). Work is collected for educational programs. The Collection includes the Jean Gaede/ Fritzi Striebel Archive, an historical archive of photographs and audio tapes focused on the Woodstock Maverick Festivals.
The Center’s Permanent Collection of over 1,200 contemporary photographs had been assembled through the generous gifts of artists, individual donors, and since 1996 through a special fund set aside for purchase of works in CPW exhibitions to enhance the collections.
The Collection contains photographs by such luminaries as: Shelby Lee Adams, Ruth Bernhard, Gaye Chan, Howard Henry Chen, Albert Chong, Bruce Davidson, Jed Devine, Larry Fink, Charles Gatewood, Robert Heineken, Kenro Izu, Christopher James, Antonin Kratochvil, Nina Kuo, Elliot Landy, Stephen Marc, Sheila Metzner, Andrea Modica, Bill Owens, Gilles Peress, Jose Picayo, Sylvia Plachy, Lilo Raymond, Eugene Richards, Stephen Shore, Lorna Simpson, Marla Sweeney, William Wegman, Edward Weston, and many others.
Ruth Bernhard, Leaf,
1976, Gelatin Silver Print
Carol Pfeffer, Untitled, 2003
from the series “Containing Complexity: Surface Interface Dynamics”, C-Print
William Wegman, Suitcase,
1996, Gelatin Silver Print
Marla Sweeney, Untitled,
2002, C- Print
Platon, Yoko Ono,
2000, C-Print
Robert Flynt, Untitled (embrace),
2000, Fuji C-Print,
In 1995, the Center's permanent print collection was transferred to the Samuel Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz on a long-term extended loan. The collection has been developed over a period of almost 20 years and includes nearly 1,000 contemporary photographs.
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz opened in fall 2000 in the newly expanded and renovated College Art Gallery (founded in 1964) under the direction of Museum Director, Neil Trager. The museum occupies more than 17,000 square feet of new and renovated facilities, making it one of the largest art museums within the State University of New York.
For almost 35 years, the College Art Gallery has provided direct support to the academic programs at SUNY New Paltz, and has served the surrounding community as a significant cultural resource.
"The urge to collect is thought to be instinctive. We only have to look at the gatherers of nature, and the history of humankind to observe this ubiquitous phenomenon. Collections, whether private or public, are created with different motivations and serve different purposes. Most museums collect to preserve objects of apparent value that otherwise might be lost to the future. Museum collections bring together objects so that they may be used, interpreted, and enjoyed. It is the collection that makes a museum unique."
- From the article, Archival
Matters: The Photography Collections at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
by Neil C. Trager, featured in PHOTOGRAPHY
Quarterly #72.