A Century in the Making
100 Years of Creative Visions
Mills College Art Museum
Ongoing – April 26, 2026
“She’s such a nice girl.” No doubt many Mills College alumnae heard that in their lives and they probably also knew about the fate that awaited such women, according to historian, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. (I agree, I think it would have been cool if Margaret Mead had said: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”)
Mills did not aim to turn out “nice girls.” Instead, it aimed to make history. The Mills College Art Museum is a testament to that determination and it’s showing off its proud history in its current exhibition.
Dupré, Large Trees at Water’s Edge
Some of the fukusa
PERMANENT COLLECTION
From its founding in 1925, the Art Museum has been a forum for exploring art and ideas and a laboratory for contemporary art practices, serving as a hub for artistic experimentation. All of that is on display in its current exhibition, 100 Years of Creative Visions, which features an intergenerational and cross-cultural selection of major works from the permanent collection that emphasizes creative communities and the importance of artist friendships.
And what an astounding collection it is! Its underpinnings lie in the Museum’s foundational works from the Bay Area Postwar artists. On display you will find works by
Jay DeFeo and Richard Diebenkorn
Imogene Cunningham, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Man Ray and the modernist photographers that formed Group f64
The Cunningham Collection is particularly extensive
Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and other Mexican modernists
European works on paper from Henri Matisse, Fernand Leger and the German Expressionists (including Käthe Kollwitz) and the Bauhaus artists
Renowned Antonio Prieto Memorial Collection – 20th-century ceramics
Japanese textiles (including vibrant and exquisite fukusa), ceramics and wood-prints
Modern works by Mills Professor Hung Liu
Works by her former students, Monica Lundy and Lien Truong
L2R: Cunningham, Mills College Amphitheater; Bernhard, In the Box; Cunningham, Three Dancers, Mills College
L2R: Kollwitz, The Mothers (lithograph); Packard, Crab Fisherman, San Francisco (print)
Thanks to the Museum’s key founder, Albert M. Bender, the Museum was an early supporter of contemporary California Impressionist painters. Shepherded over the years by directors and faculty with expertise in graphic arts, Asian art and photography, the Museum has developed significant strengths in its collection of these works, along with works on paper, photography and Californian and Asian ceramics. Being Mills, it has a special interest in important works by major female artists.
Some of the Museum’s guiding lights in front of one of Hung Liu’s works
Presently, the Museum continues to champion contemporary artists, including (mentioned above) Chinese-born painter Hung Liu and others exploring the complexities of cultural identity, along with reflecting the diverse audiences of the Bay Area.
….And when it turns 101? The Mills College Art Museum will remain committed to supporting artistic innovation and continuing an extraordinary legacy of demonstrating advances in contemporary visual arts.
L2R: Murray, Fling; France Viana, Brun et Marron (Brown and Brown [sic]) (photograph); Lozano-Hemmer, Thousand Little Brothers v7
BTW, did I mention admission is FREE? However, the days and times the Museum is open are geared to its academic calendar. So, check before you go. (You can use the link below.)
For more information on Mills College Art Museum, click here.
