Permanent Collection

The Mattye Reed African Heritage Collection

The Mattye Reed African Heritage Collection seeks to educate people about the culture, history and accomplishments of African societies and peoples of African descent. It achieves this through the development of exhibits drawn from its extensive collection of African artifacts, which represent a cross-section of African cultures from over thirty-five countries. The collection is made up of fine examples of African material culture including sculptures, masks, figures, household implements, musical instruments, and textiles. The modern collection includes works from Nigeria , Ghana , Ethiopia , Haiti and elsewhere in the African Diaspora.

During the 1960's, in the face of student demands for more courses and University attention to black culture, the A & T administration in 1968 founded the African/Afro-American House. The institution came into its own under the leadership of Mrs. Mattye Reed, who served first as Curator and then Director of the Center. Mrs. Reed, whose husband was a diplomat who served in Africa , rapidly built up the collection by asking her former colleagues and friends to make donations of their African art to the University. Mrs. Reed retired from North Carolina A&T State University in 1988 and recently passed away in December 2003.

The Henry Clinton Taylor Collection

Henry Clinton Taylor, Untitled Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 1948

Alma Thomas, Glimpse of Jupiter, Oil on Canvas, 1970

The Henry Clinton Taylor Collection and accompanying gallery space at was named for Henry Clinton Taylor, founder of the University's Art Department and chairman for 28 years. Taylor opened a gallery in the basement of the Dudley Building in 1956 to exhibit works by American artists. The H.C. Taylor Gallery was housed in the old Bluford Library from 1963 until that building closed a few years ago. Artist and faculty member, Eva Hamlin Miller served as curator from 1963 to 1978 and is credited with sponsoring many exhibitions, coordinating forums with well-know artists and building the current collection. The collection now includes pieces by Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, John Biggers, Alma Thomas and Jacob Lawrence, and Margaret Burroughs.