The papers have been signed.

When the Georgia Museum of Art reopened last year, Larry Thompson, who is a University law professor, and his wife Brenda announced a gift from their collection of African-American artists and an endowment that will eventually fund a curatorial position.

The couple collected works by renowned African-American artists, lesser-known artists who worked with renowned artists and regional artists.

“We were looking for art that stood on its own,” Brenda said. “We wanted good work. We were buying good works by artists that we like.”

Larry and Brenda Thompson gifted 100 works by African-American artists to the Georgia Museum of Art, as well as an endowment for a curator. Together, the money and works are ‘bringing’ some artists back. EVAN STICHLER/Staff

Thompson wants to change generalizations about African-American art, which many believe is naïve or mainly folk art, she said.

“But some of it is very sophisticated,” Brenda said. “We were trying to make works available and to contribute and expose people to art by American artists. As we began looking for museums, we looked for who was interested; people who had interest in the whole collection.”

Because they spent most of their adult lives in Georgia, Georgian art and artists caught the couple’s attention. Larry served on an art committee while he worked for law firm King & Spalding in Atlanta.

Over time, the Thompsons have developed many close relationships to Georgian artists, which involve trust.

“We would place it and not offer it for sale,” Brenda said. “The artists trust us with these very important extensions of themselves.”

And by further extension, the couple wanted to be sure the artists’ work ended up in the right place. So the Thompsons met with Univeristy President Michael Adams, GMOA director Bill Eiland and the museum’s staff. The couple also did its own research to place its art in a public setting — and the University met all of the criteria that they set out.

“[Eiland] would see it happen,” Brenda said. “I have so much respect for Paul [Manoguerra]. Art has obligations. There are a lot of people that make an art museum work.”

Artworks in “Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African-American Art,” as well as some in the Thompsons’ collection of about 600 works, make up the their gift that will gradually increase to 100 works.

“They’ve promised us 100 works of art,” said Manoguerra, chief curator and curator of American Art. “At the end of the year, they gave us 37. They have a great collection; we would be excited about whatever they decide to give us.”

Because their collection contains so many artworks, the Thompsons carefully deliberate over pieces to include in their gift going forward.

“Some we knew we were going to give right away,” Brenda said. “Some of the pieces we gave were our best. We wanted to start off with our best. It was part of our gift to give our best.”

The entirety of the Thompsons’ gift includes a curatorial position — but for the near future, Brenda will focus on the art, not the job.

“The original vision was to give art,” she said. “Eventually, we will make a gift of a substantial part of it. It’s a chance to educate. We’re always trying to learn.”

Receiving the total amount of artworks as well as the development of a curatorial position, the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of the African Diaspora, takes time.

“The curator we will eventually hire will not just be focused on African-American art, but he or she will focus on the entire world,” said Hillary Brown, director of communications at GMOA. “The funds come from an endowment that takes a while to build enough interest to fund that position. We start off hiring a graduate intern, then a curatorial assistant, and then a curator. It’s a pretty involved process. It takes a while.”

Although the curatorial position will take at least a few years to establish, the art has already attracted eager viewers and scholars.

“There will be people working immediately on projects with African-American art,” Manoguerra said.

Not only will people at the University engage with the art of the Thompsons’ gift — others will also have the same opportunities through the show’s travels.

“The original understanding was that this venue was the last venue of that traveling show, but now it’s going to move places,” Manoguerra said.

Rice University and Knoxville Museum of Art are two other venues that will host the show.

“The gift fills a gap in the American collection in the museum,” Manoguerra said. “We have good pieces of art by African-American artists, but we really didn’t have enough.”

A still life by Henry Ossawa Tanner and “7 Steps” by Radcliffe Bailey have already been incorporated into the museum’s permanent collection. The gift not only provides more artworks by African-Americans to the museum — it preserves them.

“We have a habit of bringing artists who were famous during their time, but for whatever reason, fell out of favor or because of their art history canon, they sort of vanished,” Manoguerra said.

Thus, Brenda said, it has been an honor for an artist to be included in the museum from her and her husband’s collection.

“Every artist was excited to be included in the Georgia Museum of Art,” Brenda said. “There are wonderful, regional artists here in Georgia. The ‘thank yous’ from the artists were just heart warming.”

Through their collection and gift, the Thompsons hope to celebrate their 30-year-connection to Georgia and its artists.

And through the Thompsons’ gift, museum officials hope students can celebrate newfound connections as well.

“It’s about student involvement,” Brown said. “The works will be studied, viewed and loved. They will not be in storage. The gift influences our mission and pursuits.”

BY THE NUMBERS

• 37: the number of artworks already donated by the Thompsons

• 100: the number of total works that will eventually be donated

• March 24, 2011: when the donation and endowment were announced

• January 2012: the donation and endowment are finalized and announced by the University