SFMOMA Announces it Has Acquired Hundreds of Artworks in 2026
4July 29, 2026
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced the acquisition of more than ninety modern and contemporary artworks, as well as more than 250 approved gifts of art to the museum. All the pieces were acquired between January and June 2026.
The purchases include video installations and works by Ana Mendieta, Stephanie Comilang and Simon Speiser, and Agnieszka Polska; preparatory architectural drawings by Arakawa + Gins; Betye Saar’sHouseof Fortune, 1988, an installation inspired by nineteenth century seances; Kishio Suga, and Rose B. Simpson; basketry by Jeremy Frey, and objects by Frida Escobedo, Bijoy Jain and Kwango Lee.
The museum also added expanded its photography collection with works by artists as Lynn Hershman Leeson, Tania Franco Klein, Justine Kurland, and Joseph Rodriguez. The museum further announced to have acquired pieces by California artists including painter and educator Bernice Bing, photographer Jim Goldberg, and painter Joan Brown.
In addition to the purchases, the museum approved of more than 250 gifts of art. These include paintings by Jennifer Bartlett, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Diebenkorn, and Nicole Eisenman, as well as works from local pottery manufacturer Heath Ceramics, and works of jewelry by Jay DeFeo.
There are already plans for some of these works. Bing’s Velasquez Family No. II, 1961, a rare surviving work from the artist’s early career is already on view in the museum. Some works, according to a release from the museum, will go on view within the next year.
“Our newest acquisitions feature celebrated and lesser-represented artists; visionaries with ties to our immediate community and those from across the country and globe; and individuals with broad-ranging experience, visions and perspective,” said SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford in a press release. “This demonstrates our institutional commitment to collecting strategically and deeply to illuminate the fullest spectrum of narratives and artistic breakthroughs.”