A former US District attorney and his wife, who is a clinical psychologist, have made a tremendous donation to the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, with the promise of more to come.

Larry and Brenda Thompson, who have long-standing ties with the University of Georgia, have donated 37 artworks, including paintings, sculpture and prints.  The donation includes works from internationally renowned African-American artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Romare Bearden, David C. Driskell, as well as contemporary artworks from Georgia-based artists Radcliffe Bailey and Wadsworth Jarrell.

Another part of the donation is an endowment to support a full-time curator. The new Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of the African Diaspora will be in charge of overseeing the museum’s collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and archives by African and African American artists, as well as conducting research and developing special programming for university. 

"We hope other students -- black, white or whatever -- will see the work and get that same feeling, that you can't just typecast African-American art," Brenda Thompson said. 

The Thompsons were inspired to make the donation after witnessing responses to the travelling exhibit “Tradition Redefined,” which was made up of loans from their collection.

(Report: Christine Bolli for Artfixdaily)