The Tarble Arts Center permanent collection contains approximately one-thousand,three-hundred pieces.
Intended as a teaching collection, the holdings are concentrated in:
20th century Illinois folk arts, complemented by an archive collection of audio and video tapes, photographs, and interviews of musicians, artists and craftspersons
Works on paper by contemporary Midwestern artists- focusing on prints, drawings and watercolors
American Scene/Regionalists prints and watercolors circa the 1930s and 1940s
Paintings by the late Paul T. Sargent, a Charleston native; and Robert M. Root of Shelbyville- both are associated with the Brown County (Indiana) Artist Colony
Also included are select examples of contemporary art in other media, and art from other cultures and historical periods in various media
