The object of this analysis is the creditline data field, which expresses both provenance and type of a given acquisition. The acquisition types featured in MoMA’s data are: bequest, collection (i.e., acquisition of an existing, external collection), donation, endowment, exchange, fund, generosity (typically listed as object “acquired through the generosity of X”), gift, and purchase.

The value of the information contained in this data field is apparent, as through it, important insight related to the practice of MoMA’s collecting may be gleaned.

The chart above shows the temporal distribution of the museum’s acquisitions categorized by acquisition type. We see the now-familiar acquisition spikes – in 1964, 1968, and 2008 – and we are now able to characterize them further as being acquisitions of a collection, or combinations of collection and gift. Additionally, it is easy to recognize the small contribution to the collection, in relative terms, of acquisition types such as purchase and donation. However, it is difficult to compare types with one another in a direct manner.

Contrastingly, the line graph below shows the cumulative composition of the museum’s collection by acquisition type through time, and makes the direct comparison of categories accessible. We can now see how the vast majority of the items acquired by the museum are gifts, and how donations, endowments, exchanges and acquisitions through funds are few and far between.

The analysis of the creditline data field is undeniably fruitful, in that it both identifies and frames key aspects of the practice of collecting in which museums engage. In the case of MoMA specifically, the distribution of acquisition types may not coincide with what one might expect; the part-to-whole ratio of purchases is minuscule and levelling off, while that of gifts and funds is climbing. However, most importantly, the primary aspect that this analysis illuminates has to do with the quantity of types of acquisitions, the proliferation of which is arguably a sign and result of equally proliferating legalisms that must influence museums’ operations.