Learning Laboratory: The Museum Collection & Study Room

Professor Roger Rothman & Art208: Modern Art, 1915-Now

Did you know that the Samek has a Museum Collection Study Room?

Did you know that the Samek has a Museum Collection?

We do! In fact, the Samek Art Gallery collects, preserves, interprets and makes accessible the 5000+ objects in the Museum Collection ranging from Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings to contemporary Chinese photography and everything in between. The Museum Collection Study Room provides an opportunity for students, scholars and the public to have access to the collection in a supervised manner. It houses nearly half of the collection (primarily prints, photographs and drawings) in archival housing units, has appropriate study furniture, lighting, and space for individuals and classes to study works of art from the full collection.

As the Registrar, I manage the Museum Collection Study Room. Here are a few facts I’d like to share with you:

Who: On average, approximately 500-600 Bucknell students visit the Museum Collection Study Room a year, but anyone can use the collection as a resource for academic research or personal enjoyment. The majority of reservations are made my Faculty for class visits as well as individual students who are studying a piece from the collection or an artist for a course assignment.

What: As mentioned above, the Samek Museum Collection is comprised of over 5000 objects, with a focus on prints and photography. You may request to study anything from the collection, as long as it is available and stable for viewing. Approximately 1/3 of the Museum Collection is available for viewing on our Fedora database. The last few appointments have requested portraits (prints, photographs & sculpture), prints related to social commentary (works by Käthe Kollwitz, Francisco Goya and Luis Jiménez), works of art by African-American artists, and Feminist works of art.

When: The Museum Collection Study Room is available by appointment only between the hours of 9am and 4pm, Monday-Friday. Reservations must be made a minimum of two weeks in advance and are made on a first come, first serve basis.

Where: I bet you didn’t know that the Langone Center has 3 1/2 floors, did you? The Study Room is located within the Samek Administrative Offices, on the 3rd floor of the Elaine Langone Center. The Study Room itself is actually located a half floor above the Samek Gallery, where the gallery Director’s office used to reside. Many, many renovations ago, the Study Room had windows that overlooked into the gallery space to allow for security monitoring during open exhibition hours.

Why: Should I bring my class to the Museum Collection Study Room? I think so! But don’t just take my word for it, ask Professor Collin McKinney. “I take all of my students to the Samek. It doesn’t matter whether I’m teaching a language course, or a course on Spanish civilization and culture, it is one of the first things I put on my syllabus each semester.

How: Reservations can be requested by emailing me @ tag010@bucknell.edu or calling 570-577-3282. It’s as simple as that! Additionally, we have a great new resource available for faculty who wish to use the Museum Collection for a course assignment. We can how hang a group of objects in the Conversations Gallery that your class/students will need to study/research though the semester. These works will then be available during all Samek public hours making them even more accessible for your students!