The contemporary art collection includes works of art created between 1961 and the present. This section of the collection has historically emphasized works of American and European artists. Since it is strong in painting, recent acquisitions have focused on sculpture and works in new media, such as video art. The museum seeks to collect broadly in contemporary art in a way that mirrors the entire museum collection as a whole.

The curator of contemporary art also collaborates with curators in charge of other, largely non-Western collections, with the goal of creating an engaged, creative dialogue between contemporary art and works made throughout the past centuries. The collection includes primary examples of North American abstract painting, such as Ellsworth Kelly's Red Blue (1962), Agnes Martin's The City (1966), and Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #4 (1969); early work by Lee Bontecou (Untitled, 1961) and Robert Gober (Untitled, 1990); very important artworks by influential artists Andy Warhol (Marilyn x 100, 1962) and Anselm Kiefer (Lot's Wife, 1989); and a recently acquired video installation by Omer Fast (The Casting, 2007).