African art in Western collections

Some African objects had been collected by Europeans for centuries, and there had been industries producing some types, particularly carvings in ivory, for European markets in some coastal regions. Between 1890 in addition to 1918 the volume of objects greatly increased as Western colonial expansion in Africa led to a removal of many pieces of sub-Saharan African art that were subsequently brought to Europe and displayed. These objects entered the collections of natural history museums, art museums both encyclopedic and specialist and private collections in Europe and the United States. approximately 90% of Africa's cultural heritage is believed to be located in Europe, according to French art historians.

Initially mostly seen as illustrating the ethnology of different African cultures, in the 20th century appreciation of pieces as artworks grew during the 20th century. Only towards the end of the century was "modern" African art in fine art genres accepted as significant.

Post-1980s African art

Post-1980s curatorial approaches to collecting and displaying historical African art tend towards greater specialization, broadening definitions, and a desire for contextualization.

Curatorial debate surrounds questions about where boundaries should be drawn between traditional and modern, between African and the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe, and between sub-Saharan and North African art. Ininstances, tradition-based and contemporary works have been exhibited together, a practice that began with the exhibition "Astonishment and Power: Kingo Minkisi & the Art of Renee Stout" at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. However, this exhibition was criticized for suggesting a cultural continuity between pre-modern African art and African-American art today while ignoring crucial cultural differences between these two bodies of work. The Benin artist Meschac Gaba's 2013 installation "Museum of Contemporary African Art" at Tate Modern responded to the fact that there was to date no museum of contemporary African art. In September, 2017, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa opened in Cape Town, South Africa.