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This relatively recent collection was founded on the gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Olsen in the 1950s, which provided a representative base of Mesoamerican art. Further acquisitions from the Olsen collection in the 1970s added several exceptional highlights. Among these are outstanding Jaina terra-cotta figurines from the Maya period and striking figures and house models from western Mexico. Particularly important and rare is the clay model of a ball game, which is complemented by a yoke, hachas, and additional items related to this ancient sporting activity. South American cultures are represented by a small number of vessels, sculptures, and other objects, including textiles. Recent acquisitions have included a painted Maya vase and the largest carved Maya femur known, along with a notable selection of Olmec and Maya pieces, with important gifts from Peggy and Richard Danziger, LL.B. 1963, Sally and Allen Wardwell, B.A. 1957, and Thomas T. Solley, B.A. 1950.
The art of the ancient Americas collection is shared with Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, known for its excavations at Machu Picchu; the two museums lend works back and forth for exhibition and study.
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Susan B. Matheson susan.matheson@yale.edu
Susan B. Matheson, the Molly and Walter Bareiss Curator of Ancient Art and Chief Curator, oversees the Gallery's collections of ancient art. She has organized exhibitions on Dura-Europos, Greek vases, and neo-classical and Gothic Revival art, and was co-curator of I, Claudia: Women in Ancient Rome. Her publications include Polygnotos and Vase Painting in Classical Athens, and she has written and lectured extensively on ancient glass, vases, and sculpture at Yale. Among her current projects is an exhibition on old age in Greek and Roman art. Download
curriculum vitae
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Lisa R. Brody lisa.brody@yale.edu
Lisa R. Brody, Associate Curator of Ancient Art, received her B.A. from Yale in 1991 and her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 1999. She has excavated in Portugal, Greece, and Turkey, as well as on the Old Campus of Yale University. She has taught art history and classical archaeology at numerous institutions, including Notre Dame, Oregon State University, and Queens College, CUNY, and her publications include Aphrodisias III: The Aphrodite of Aphrodisias. Download curriculum vitae |
George A. Kubler, ed. Pre-Colombian Art of Mexico and Central America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
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