Pamela Joyner's impressive art collection, which she shares with her husband Alfred Giuffrida, now includes around 600 artworks. However, the prominent businesswoman and philanthropist's journey into art collecting began with an unexpected foundation: books. Her passion for art developed early through visits to museums like the Art Institute of Chicago in her hometown, but it was art books that truly launched her collecting career.
When Joyner first considered collecting art in the 1990s, she faced a unique challenge. "I was interested in artists of the African diaspora, but there weren't a lot of experts lingering around, so books were my experts," she recalled. She quickly built an extensive library of art books, studying them carefully to develop her taste and knowledge. Her advice to aspiring collectors reflects this experience: "I'd tell any art lover or art buyer to collect books. A collection of books is as worthy a collection as one of art."
Joyner's education in art extended beyond books to regular museum visits, which she considers essential for developing visual literacy. "Going to museums gets you to develop a muscle memory around visual culture and also gives you the exercise of training your eye to what is new," she explained, comparing the practice to maintaining good hygiene. One particularly transformative experience came from repeatedly viewing Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (1884-86) at the Art Institute, where she would imagine herself walking along the riverbank with the painted figures.
Even during these early museum experiences, Joyner noticed the lack of diversity among both the artists represented and the people depicted in their works. This observation would later become central to her collecting philosophy. When she finally decided to start collecting, her initial motivation was practical: "I had empty walls to fill and wanted to surround myself with beautiful art," she said.
Joyner's collecting journey was greatly influenced by artist Richard Mayhew, who became both a friend and mentor. A painting by Mayhew was among her first acquisitions, and through him, she met other artists whose work she later purchased, including Sam Gilliam, Ed Clark, Melvin Edwards, and William T. Williams. Over the years, she has built a remarkable collection focusing particularly on abstract paintings by artists of color, which fill her homes in dense, striking arrangements that she jokes can shock visitors.
Among her recent acquisitions is a painting by Sydney Cain, a young artist who explores the mythology and history of the African diaspora through metaphysical landscapes. Joyner was particularly drawn to what she described as "a palpable sense of spirituality" in Cain's work, demonstrating her continued commitment to supporting emerging artists alongside established masters.
About 15 years ago, Joyner's collecting took on a more purposeful dimension. "I realized that there was a way to put my collecting to a purpose," she explained. She began asking herself which voices were being unfairly excluded from art history. Her research revealed significant gaps: "A lot of artists of color, especially in the 1950s to 70s, didn't have formal monographs of their shows, so there's no documentation. There were pamphlets, but much of that has been lost. It was clear these are voices not fairly represented in art history."
This realization led Joyner to adopt a more systematic approach to collecting. "I'm not an art historian, I'm an MBA, so I said, 'Okay, I can do this strategically,'" she noted. Her methodology now considers factors such as price, medium, time period, and genre. However, she maintains flexibility within this framework: "Every time I go through this exercise, it either becomes more refined or broadens in scope. But I always let myself break the plan if something great comes along."
While her initial focus centered on African American artists, Joyner's vision has expanded to include Brazilian voices, reflecting her deeper understanding of the African diaspora. "The majority of the transatlantic slave trade went through Brazil, and there are a lot of people of African descent in the nation," she explained. "The largest Black population outside of Africa is in Brazil. I want to create a broader context with my collection, and artists of African and Brazilian descent are part of that." Her Brazilian acquisitions include works by Sonia Gomes, Tadáskía, and Ana Cláudia Almeida, and she regularly attends events like the São Paulo Bienal.
Beyond personal collecting, Joyner actively supports the broader art ecosystem. She helps fund publications to ensure artists remain part of the permanent art historical record long after their exhibitions close. She also serves on acquisition teams for major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, helping to diversify their collections.
One of Joyner and Giuffrida's most significant contributions is their artist residency program, which began in 2014 in Sonoma, California, before relocating to the Nevada Museum of Art in 2021. The program invites artists to stay for three months with complete creative freedom. "They can sleep the whole time if that's what they want and need," Joyner said with characteristic humor. "But, of course, that's not what they do. Some of them really become enmeshed in our community, and I have at times ended up buying some of what they make in Nevada."
Recent resident Thomas J. Price exemplifies the program's success. He used his residency to expand his painting practice, and Joyner purchased one of the resulting works. "This painting was stunningly beautiful and related directly to the conceptual underpinnings that he displays in his sculptural, much more representational work," she said. "It felt like an honor that this came from our residency."
What began as a simple desire to fill empty walls has evolved into something far more meaningful. Joyner's collection now serves as both a personal passion and a powerful tool for diversifying art history, supporting underrepresented artists, and ensuring their voices remain part of the cultural conversation for future generations.
