Overview of Collections
Overview of Collections
Oakland Museum of California Collections
The permanent collections of the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) contain more than 1.9 million items, including works of art, historical artifacts, ethnographic materials, natural specimens, and photographs of astonishing scope and diversity—representing the material legacy of California and its people. No other institution has assembled such a full and distinguished multidisciplinary California collection, making OMCA particularly relevant to audiences locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.
The Oakland Museum of California was created by the City of Oakland in the mid-1960s with the merger of three small, early 20th-century museums—the Oakland Public Museum, Oakland Art Gallery, and the Snow Museum of Natural History. While the Museum affirmed at that time that its mission would be devoted to the art, history, and natural sciences of California, the core of the Museum’s collection dates back to these earlier institutions and representations of these “legacy” collections remain in the Museum’s holdings.
The Museum’s collections are presented in three galleries. The Galleries of California Art and History, which reopened after extensive renovation in May 2010, and the Gallery of California Natural Sciences which is scheduled to open in 2013. In addition to the utilization of collections through Museum exhibitions and programs, the Museum’s extensive holdings are available for loan to other institutions and for study by scholars and curators. The Museum will be increasingly presenting its collections online in the coming years.
The Oakland Museum of California was created by the City of Oakland in the mid-1960s with the merger of three small, early 20th-century museums—the Oakland Public Museum, Oakland Art Gallery, and the Snow Museum of Natural History. While the Museum affirmed at that time that its mission would be devoted to the art, history, and natural sciences of California, the core of the Museum’s collection dates back to these earlier institutions and representations of these “legacy” collections remain in the Museum’s holdings.
The Museum’s collections are presented in three galleries. The Galleries of California Art and History, which reopened after extensive renovation in May 2010, and the Gallery of California Natural Sciences which is scheduled to open in 2013. In addition to the utilization of collections through Museum exhibitions and programs, the Museum’s extensive holdings are available for loan to other institutions and for study by scholars and curators. The Museum will be increasingly presenting its collections online in the coming years.
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