Skip to main content
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Our Founders
    • Our Team
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes celebrate extraordinary achievements in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes
    • Prize Recipients
    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awards immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Recognizes young immigrant professionals for outstanding achievements.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Celebrating intellectual and cultural leaders in the United States.

    • Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History

      Honors art historians, curators, and fine arts professionals.

  • Art
  • Grants
    • Grants

      Grants awarded to 501(c)(3) cultural, educational, and philanthropic organizations in the United States.

    • Grants

      Learn more and apply for a grant.

    • Grants History

      Explore a list of past Vilcek Foundation grantees.

  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > News > Vilcek Foundation Collections Expand with Pre-Columbian Artworks

Vilcek Foundation Collections Expand with Pre-Columbian Artworks

News | July 7, 2014
Share this page
Share this page on X Share this page on Facebook Share this page on LinkedIn

Last spring, we launched an exciting new initiative by publishing three online art collections on Vilcek.org.  The Contemporary Art Collection reinforces the Vilcek Foundation’s mission to support work by foreign-born artists living in the United States.  Pottery from the 19th and 20th centuries is a promised gift to the foundation in the Native American Pottery Collection.  Also a promised gift to the foundation, the American Modernist Collection reflects Jan and Marica Vilcek’s love for the art of this country with a collection of masterworks representative of a crucial moment in the history of American art.

Now we are proud to announce a new addition to the collections!  The Vilcek Foundation Pre-Columbian Collection illustrates the wide range of artistic and cultural legacies that arose across the pre-Columbian world.  

The Pre-Columbian Collection includes extraordinary masks, figures, and vessels — in stone and ceramic — from Mesoamerica, the Intermediate Area, and South America.  The majority of works are from Mesoamerica, with an emphasis on the art of Mexico.  Highlights include impressive pieces from the Aztec (Mexica), Maya, Olmec, and Teotihuacán.  A large selection of Mezcala temples and figures from the Guerro region of Mexico further enrich the collection.  Significant works from the Intermediate Area (roughly defined as the area from modern Nicaragua to Ecuador) include Costa Rican jade celts, ceramics from Panama, Chorrera figures from Ecuador, and a Calima-Malagana figure from Colombia.  Two remarkable pieces from South America — a Chavin stirrup vessel of a jaguar from the Northern Coast of Peru and an Alamito mask from Argentina — round out the collection.

Explore all of the objects in the Pre-Columbian Collection today.  And for behind-the-scenes images of all our artwork, follow the Vilcek Foundation on Instagram!

Art collection photography by Joseph Coscia Jr.

Share this page
Share this page on X Share this page on Facebook Share this page on LinkedIn

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Founders
    • Our Team
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prize Recipients
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History
  • Art
  • Grants
    • Grants History
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on Facebook
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on Instagram
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on X
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on LinkedIn
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on Youtube
  • Connect with the Vilcek Foundation on Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2025   Vilcek Foundation
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok