Philadelphia ethnographer Stewart Culin worked as director of the Penn Museum from 1892 to 1903 and was instrumental in acquiring the Historic Games Collection. After his time here, Culin became a curator at the Brooklyn Museum and helped establish their African gallery. A recent New York Times article has more on the subject and the gallery revamp:
“Brooklyn began acquiring African material as early as 1900 but picked up steam in the 1920s under the direction of the visionary curator Stewart Culin (1858-1929). During his tenure the museum became the first in the country to present African objects as art rather than as ethnographic data.”
The Penn Museum is also renovating our own gallery with the Imagine Africa project. So pay a visit to the NEW website and join the conversation.