I am excited to welcome you back to the Gallery this fall. A highlight of the season is Mickalene Thomas / Portrait of an Unlikely Space. The exhibition marks the first time that the internationally acclaimed artist Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971, M.F.A. 2002) has explicitly addressed how Black women, men, and children were represented in early American history. The beautiful historical-contemporary display is set into a multigallery installation that Thomas designed to honor those who are shown in the pre-Emancipation objects.

Opening September 26, Ornament, a display of musical instruments and works on paper, explores how ornament offers an arena for artistic license across media. In a New Light: Paintings from the Yale Center for British Art remains on view through December 3. The exhibition showcases more than 50 exceptional works from the YCBA.

We invite you to check out the Gallery’s first born-digital publication, Italian Paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery. The free catalogue, available for download and easy reading, is the first comprehensive presentation of the museum’s important holdings of early Italian paintings.

Behind the scenes, work on a multiyear project to consolidate about 20,000 artworks within a new state-of-the-art facility at the Yale West Campus Collection Studies Center continues. The shared space will add 42,000 square feet of renovated and new storage space done in partnership with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Yale Peabody Museum, and the YCBA.

To learn more about our superb collection and to discover in-person and virtual offerings for this fall, please visit our newly designed, mobile-friendly website and use the Smartify app while in the galleries. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Stephanie Wiles
The Henry J. Heinz II Director