MUNCIE, Ind. – David T. Owsley, the biggest donor to Ball State University’s Art Museum, died on Aug. 23, 2025. The David Owsley Museum of Art still has many of the donated pieces on display in the museum.
Throughout his life, Owsley worked to curate the collection at DOMA. In the last 11 years, Owsley worked with the Director of Art, Robert La France.
“David Owsley has been donating to this museum since the 60s,” La France said. “He donated around 2,500 pieces, which makes up almost a quarter of our 11,000 objects.”
Owsley donated more than just art. According to La France, Owsley gave the museum $4.5 million in 2024.
La France said that many of the pieces that Owsley donated could be shown in museums in bigger cities like Chicago and New York, but Owsley wanted to keep the art close to home. Owsley wanted to make art more accessible for smaller towns like Muncie.
“We are interested in bringing culture to the people of Muncie, world cultures,” La France said. “There is great diversity in the collection and a lot to learn about the world here.”
According to La France, diversity was a point of interest in Owsley’s collection. Owsley donated art from all cultures, including Southwest Asian and African cultures. Culture was not the only type of art Owsley was interested in.
“David bought ‘Right Bird Left’ by Lee Krasner at a time when few were buying art by women artists,” La France said. “He was very interested in works of art by women, so he bought a lot of them.”
La France is confident in the museum's future and continues to display diverse art in the Muncie Community. The museum is free to enter for students and members of the community.
Contact Josh Gabbard with comments at Joshua.Gabbard@bsu.edu.
