Magnificent Gifts for the 75th
February 13, 2010— April 4, 2010
Modern & Contemporary Collection
We are participating in celebrating the anniversary of an institution we love and hold in high esteem.
–Estelle and Morton Sosland
More than 50 works of art have entered the Modern and Contemporary collection in honor of the Museum’s 75th Anniversary.
Of Estelle and Morton Sosland’s nine promised gifts, two are presented here: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s pastel drawing Soft Shuttlecocks on Ground and the fabrication model for their monumental and now iconic Shuttlecocks, a remarkable 1994 gift of the Sosland Family.
Thanks to generous support from the William T. Kemper Foundation—Commerce Bank, Trustee, the five conceptual and electronic media works on view in this exhibition were acquired in recognition of the 75th Anniversary. Among them are John Baldessari’s photocollage from his Violent Space Series and Nam June Paik’s mesmerizing Watching Buddha. Carroll and Donna Janis’ exemplary gift of George Segal’s cast-from-life sculpture Chance Meeting is a deeply moving addition to the collection.
Frank Victor’s gift of Sun in England, one of Jim Dine’s most radiant heart paintings, brightens the gallery, while Michael and Karen Herman’s promised gift of Diary: Aug. 27, 1942, by Roger Shimomura, lends a note of sobriety.
Just as these and other works have greatly enlivened the Contemporary collection, so the Miller Nichols Family’s promised gift of Piet Mondrian’s tonal drawing Fields with Haystacks has enhanced the Modern collection.
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Roger Shimomura |
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Nam June Paik |
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Tina Mion |
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Jim Dine American, born 1935 Sun in England 1981 Watercolor, gouache and pastel on paper 47 π x 45 inches Gift of Frank L. Victor in honor of the 75th Anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008.74.© 2010 Jim Dine / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York |
