This has resulted in a rich assortment of '60s and '70s artworks, echoing the era of the College's beginnings. Notable works include Larry Bell's glass cube, Richard Anuskiewicz's "op art" paintings, a bronze sculpture by Leonard Baskin, and Paul Zelansky’s resin abstract sculptures. The collection has slowly grown with limited acquisitions since 2005, such as the Vance Studley Collection of Barry Moser prints acquired in 2016.

Photography also holds a significant place in the collection, which features extensive portfolios by artists such as Paul Strand, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Edouard Boubat, Robert Dousneau, Elliott Erwitt, and Jerome Liebling. 

The collection has notable strengths among works on paper. These include a two-volume portfolio entitled Formulation: Articulation by Josef Albers, a suite of lithographs by Marisol, and abstract prints by Man Ray. Individual works on paper (for example by Baskin, William Gropper, and George Grosz) are useful as illustrations of various printmaking and drawing techniques.

One unconventional segment of the collection is the Robert W. Lisle Collection of cameras, darkroom equipment, projectors, and daguerreotype and collodion photographs that provide a material record of the history of image capture in the United States from the mid-19th century to the early 21st century.

Additional collection highlights include about one hundred Asante goldweights (small brass tools for measuring gold dust on scales from the late 17th to 18th centuries), a dozen Yoruba ibeji (wood figurative sculptures), and a group of USSR political posters.