The Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas at Dallas is set to receive more than 4,000 works spanning nearly 5,000 years of Asian art. Collector Barry L. MacLean is also committing $10 million toward their preservation and long-term care. The collection includes pottery, bronzes, stone sculptures and architectural fragments from China and Southeast Asia.
According to UT Dallas, the university said MacLean donated more than 4,000 Asian works from the MacLean Collection to the Crow Museum and committed $10 million toward their long-term care. About half of the objects originate in China, while the rest represent artistic traditions from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Indonesia, per the university. Richard Pegg described the MacLean Collection as one of the great Asian art collections assembled in the United States, as Community Impact reported.
A Collection Decades in the Making
MacLean and his late wife, Mary Ann, began collecting ancient pottery from around the world in the early 1970s, according to the university’s announcement. Over time, the collection grew to include Neolithic-era artifacts and objects reaching into the present day. Community Impact reported that MacLean wants the works’ stories told and that his family chose the Crow in part for its educational role.
Several pieces from the collection have already found a home at the museum. Some outdoor sculptures from the MacLean Collection now adorn the exterior of the first phase of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, the arts and culture district on campus that houses the Crow Museum, per the university’s announcement.
Ceramics on Display Downtown Through 2027
Visitors do not have to wait for the full collection to make its way to campus. The Crow Museum’s downtown Dallas location opened “Fire and Earth: Early Chinese Pottery from the MacLean Collection” in 2025, featuring 45 ceramic vessels, and the exhibition is scheduled to run through September 26, 2027, according to the Crow Museum. The museum plans to add new pieces from the collection in 2027, according to Community Impact.
Museum director Amy Hofland said the works could support learning in university and K-12 classrooms, museum galleries and community discussions across the region, according to UT Dallas. The university said the collection will be a resource for studying art, history and culture.
Part of a Bigger Campus Vision
What the Athenaeum Is Planned to Include
UT Dallas describes the O’Donnell Athenaeum as a 12-acre campus project planned to include two museums, a performance hall and music building, and a grand plaza. The Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology says the Phase II Performance and Music Building is designed to include a 684-seat Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation Concert Hall. These project descriptions do not specify opening dates for the facilities.
The MacLean gift is part of UT Dallas’s broader vision for the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, Community Impact reported. In 2019, the Trammell and Margaret Crow family donated the museum’s original collection to UT Dallas, along with $23 million in support funding, according to UT Dallas Magazine. The magazine said that earlier gift was intended to fund the design and construction of a second museum on campus while the downtown location continued operating.
