The Raymond Jonson Collection

There are nearly 2,400 artworks housed at the Jonson, which are divided into four distinct collections: The largest and most significant is the Jonson Reserve Retrospective Collection composed of over 600 paintings and drawings by Raymond Jonson selected by the artist in 1978 as most representative of his 65 year career. The next largest collection, the Raymond Jonson Estate Collection, consists of approximately 400 paintings that Jonson set aside to be sold in support of the permanent collection. The Other Artists Collection is made up of works by Agnes Martin, Elaine DeKooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Josef Albers, members of the Transcendental Painting Group (1938-1942), co-founded by Jonson and Taos painter Emil Bisttram, and many others. Finally, the Jonson Students Collection consists of artworks by many of the artist’s students during his 20 year tenure as professor of art at UNM (1934-1954).

In addition, the museum’s holdings of Raymond Jonson materials include an extensive archive of letters, articles, photographs, and other documents by and about Jonson, the Chicago Little Theatre, and the Transcendental Painting Group.