Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Harriet and Daniel Fusfeld Folk Art Collection

Dr. Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld of Ann Arbor, Michigan first began collecting art in the 1960s when they were in graduate school in New York City. Over the years they focused on folk and outsider art with a special interest in items from the Great Lakes region, those made by women, and those whose subject matter was religion or occupational activity. In some cases the Fusfelds acquired pieces directly from the artists but most of their collection was acquired from antique or folk art dealers around the country, including some of the best known galleries in New York.

In 2002 the Fusfelds donated to the University of Michigan Art Museum primarily the non-Michigan and outsider art portions of their collection; Michigan State University Museum received primarily those items with strong connections to occupation, religion, and to the Great Lakes region, including a significant collection of ice fishing lures and waterfowling decoys. The MSU Museum collection also contains examples of work by individuals considered by many as America's most significant folk artists, including Ralph Fasanella, Sister Gertrude Morgan, and Minnie Evans. 

Donors and Fieldworkers

Dr. Daniel Fusfeld, Harriet Fusfeld Dr. Daniel Fusfeld, Harriet Fusfeld

Exhibitions

"'This Guy's Painting Our Lives': Ralph Fasanella, Worker Activist/Worker Artist," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, May 1-June 15, 1993.

Harriet and Daniel Fusfeld Folk Art Collection

Ugly Jug, ceramic, Terry King, North Carolina,1997

Porcupine, wood and toothpicks, Wesley Merritt, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 1990s