A special exhibition featuring 38 superb works of art created by Native North American artists just opened, on Tuesday, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Drawn from the more than 870 pieces assembled by philanthropists Eugene and Clare Thaw, American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection attests to the long-standing excellence of the aesthetic traditions of North America’s Native peoples. Spanning the first millennium to the 20th century, it showcases indigenous masterpieces in various media—sculpture, painting, drawing, basketry, textiles, ceramics, and decorative arts. Among the highlights are a rare whelk shell gorget (ca.1100–1400) carved by a Mississippian sculptor; a monumental war record (ca. 1880) vividly painted on animal hide by Plains masters; a rare, nearly life-size Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch figure from the late 19th century; and a waterproof Kamleika garment (or parka) made of seal or other sea-mammal gut from the Arctic region.

Eugene Thaw is recognized as a leading dealer and collector of Old Master drawings and paintings. Thaw and his wife, Clare, first began acquiring indigenous American art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1987. From the outset, they approached American Indian material culture as fine art, applying the same exacting standards of connoisseurship as they applied to other areas of their collection. They have engaged in a 30-year quest to assemble exceptional works of art produced by cultures throughout North America, from 500 B.C. to the present. In 1991 the Thaws decided to share their collection with the American public by donating it to the Fenimore Art Museum, where it is on permanent view. Today the collection is the point of departure for a dynamic study of Native American art.

This presentation, in Mr. Thaw’s 90th year, celebrates their role as benefactors to many New York City arts institutions, including the Morgan Library and Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he is an Honorary Trustee.