Support the Museum

Your generosity makes a significant impact on the museum’s present and future. A monetary donation to the Samek Art Museum supports new acquisitions, educational programs, and opportunities to help our community remain engaged and active in an informal, lifelong learning environment. Whether it’s to honor or memorialize a family member, friend, or Bucknell alum, this donation has a direct impact on our mission to create meaningful encounters between artists, students, scholars, the public, and works of art. Your donation is a catalyst for positive change in our museum.

Donations of Art

Thank you for considering a donation of art to the Samek Art Museum at Bucknell University. The generosity of donors has allowed our collection to grow to over 6000 works of art that represent a wide variety of cultures, time periods, and geographic locations.

We welcome gifts of art that meet our collecting goals. All gift offers are subject to thorough review by museum and university staff to ensure the gift aligns with our mission, campus policies, and professional standards. We do not accept works of art left unattended on the museum’s premises.

To begin a conversation about donating a work of art, please contact the Director of the Samek Art Museum, Richard Rinehart, at r.rinehart@bucknell.edu with detailed information about the proposed gift, including:

• The artist’s name or culture of origin
• Title of work
• Date produced
• Medium
• Dimensions
• A history of ownership and/or how the work was acquired
• Photographs of the work

All potential acquisitions will be subject to an Acquisition Review Period. The Acquisition Review Period allows for the solicitation of opinions and recommendations by outside experts related to the work of art in question.  The potential acquisition and related information may also be shared with the Samek Art Museum Student Advisors in order to serve as an educational opportunity to learn about museum operations and to allow for student comments.

If, after the Acquisition Review Period, the Director chooses to move forward with the gift, the offer will be presented to Bucknell University’s Gift Acceptance Committee for review and approval. It is only after approval of the Samek Art Museum Director and Bucknell’s Gift Acceptance Committee that a gift offer is officially accepted. At this point a Gift Agreement will be prepared and shared with the donor. 

Please note federal law and professional ethics prohibit the Samek Art Museum from offering the following services. Below are some resources you may use in your own research. The Samek Art Museum at Bucknell University does not recommend or endorse any of these resources over others, nor guarantee the results.

• Appraisal
  Please visit one of the below websites to locate a certified appraiser:
  •  Appraisers Association of America
  • International Society of Appraisers
  • American Society of Appraisers
    

• Authentication
  Please contact a professional art appraiser or auction house to assist.
• Conservation or Restoration
  Please search for a conservator through the American Institute for Conservation