The ongoing Minert Donation began in 1995; although not an official collection it is a large group of stellar photographs that greatly added to the prestige of the RAM Permanent Collection and reinforced its focus on photography. Work by iconic photographers such as Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan and Brett Weston—including Portrait of a Young Girl, Eaton Place, London by Bill Brandt (1955, pl. 34)—were donated in this gift. Not only did the family contribute work to the collection but also the Minerts continue, even now, to donate hundreds of books that make up the majority of the museum’s reference library, located in the adjacent RAM Art Annex.—excerpted from the commemorative centennial edition book RAM 100: Rockford Art Museum, 1913–2013
