Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200

From groundbreaking early acquisitions to striking new additions, the Brooklyn Museum’s collection has always championed artists and artworks that catalyze imaginative storytelling and brave conversations. As we ring in our 200th anniversary, Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 celebrates this unique legacy. Comprising three chapters that boast both longtime favorites and brand-new standouts, the exhibition brings fresh narratives to the fore while exploring the collection’s rich history and future evolution. 

Brooklyn Made is an homage to art and design created in the borough from the 17th century to today. Beginning with a pair of Delaware youth moccasins that acknowledge the land’s original inhabitants, this chapter journeys through time to spotlight works by active Brooklyn artists such as KAWS, Duke Riley, and Tourmaline. Building the Brooklyn Museum and Its Collection features transformational artworks and archival materials that trace the development of the collection as well as the Beaux-Arts building that houses it. Gifts of Art in Honor of the 200th showcases extraordinary contemporary works—paintings, photographs, video, sculpture, ceramics, and more—given to us by valued donors in honor of our bicentennial. Exemplary pieces by well-established artists such as Derrick Adams, Julie Mehretu, Robert Frank, Alex Katz, Joel Sternfeld, and Coco Fusco are joined by contributions from influential artists working today, many in Brooklyn. Telling the Museum’s story along with their own, these works reveal how the collection continues to reflect our changing world. 

Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200 is organized by Meghan Bill, Coordinator of Provenance; Abigail Dansiger, Director of Libraries and Archives; Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts; Liz St. George, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts; and Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography; with Kimberli Gant, Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art; Carmen Hermo, former Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art; Michael Gibson-Prugh, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and Europe, and Imani Williford, Curatorial Assistant, Photography, Fashion, and Material Culture.

Thank you to the Curatorial Division for their collaboration on the development of Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200.

Significant support is provided by the Hooper Family—Dana Hooper and Alicia Swanson; John P. and Rebecca Hooper Cavanaugh; Gary W. and Abigail Hooper Conrad; and E. Bickford and Virginia Hooper Hooper—in honor of their late ancestor Professor Franklin William Hooper, who served as Director of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (1891–1913) and the Brooklyn Museum (1897–1913).

Generous support is provided by the Leonian Charitable Trust.