Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia houses one of the finest indigenous Australian art collections in the world, rivaling many of the collections held in Australia. The museum houses many important breakthrough paintings of the Papunya movement and Arnhem land artists.

The museum was formed after the collections of businessman John Werner Kluge and academic, the late Professor Edward L. Ruhe, of the University of Kansas, were amalgamated. The collection comprises approximately 1700 objects including bark paintings,acrylic on canvas paintings, sculpture, and artifacts. The director and curator of the Kluge-Ruhe Collection is anthropologist Margo Smith.

The museum is located at Pantops Farm, a university-owned property once owned by Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

See also

• Indigenous Australian art
• Papunya Tula

Sources

Kluge-Ruhe Museum at the University of Virginia

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia