Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia is the only museum in the United States dedicated to the exhibition and study of Australian Aboriginal art. Our mission is to advance knowledge and understanding of Australia’s Indigenous people and their art and culture worldwide. Working with living artists, international scholars and arts professionals, we provide a wide range of learning experiences to the University community and the public through exhibition, research and educational programs. The Kluge-Ruhe Collection came into being in 1997 through a gift by American businessman, John W. Kluge (1914-2010). Influenced by the Dreamings exhibition in New York, Mr. Kluge began collecting Aboriginal art in 1988. Over the next decade he compiled one of the finest private collections of Australian Aboriginal art in the world. In 1993, Kluge purchased the collection and archives of the late Professor Edward L. Ruhe (1923-1989) of Lawrence, Kansas. Ruhe began collecting Aboriginal art while visiting Australia as a Fulbright Scholar in 1965. He built a collection of the highest quality and exhibited it widely in the United States between 1965 and 1977. Ruhe’s research on Aboriginal art resulted in the publication of several exhibition catalogues and articles.