The Tyler Museum of Art has a permanent collection of more than 1,500 works. Since the Museum opened in 1971, the permanent collection has seen periods of great advancement, including a gift of Mexican folk art from Laura and Dan Boeckman. The Laura and Dan Boeckman Collection of Mexican Folk Art is one of the largest collections of its kind in the United States. Other works of art continue to be gifted to the Museum and others have been selected for purchase with funds donated by benefactors. Such individuals – and in some cases, organizations and foundations – have become vital partners in forming the collection and in defining the Museum’s character and purpose.

The Collection includes works by both early and contemporary Texas artists including Porfirio Salinas, Frank Reugh,
Jerry Bywaters, L.O. Griffith, Rosalee Speed, and
Josephine Oliver, as well as contemporary artists such as Joseph Glasco, Sedrick Huckaby, William B. Montgomery, Karl Umlauf, Vernon Fisher, James Surls, Ancel E. Nunn, Terry Allen, Skeet McAuley, and Keith Carter. In addition to the strong collection of works by Texas artists, the Tyler Museum of Art also features works by many others including Josef Albers, Al Held, Robert Motherwell, Clayton Pond, and Edward Zucca.

Due to limited gallery space, works from the Permanent Collection are only on view at certain times.