Boston's Museum of Fine Arts to buy work from 24 artists

BOSTON (AP) - Even as Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts remains closed, curators remain at work on building out its contemporary art collection.

The museum made a pledge Thursday to purchase works by 24 artists living in the country.

Nearly all of the artists will be entering the museum’s collection for the very first time.

The museum, which is the 17th largest art museum in the world, closed its doors as the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the state.

The decision left the space containing nearly half a million works of art empty.

The acquisition of the new pieces are set to kick off in June, starting with a piece of art dedicated to immigrant workers and another honoring the first democratically-elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The museum plans to host a virtual studio visit with one of the artists on May 31.