Arts Society

Enjoy an art appreciation presentation and tour in this popular series. Each program begins with a lecture and concludes with an exclusive tour of the galleries to discuss related artwork. This series is presented by museum educator Susan Rosoff.

October 19: Three Sees – Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Chuck Close

Christo and Jeanne-Claude mainly acquired art from their American and international friends, while Chuck Close was drawn to Old Masters and contemporary artists who focused on faces.

December 14: Obsession to Possess – Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was almost a hoarder. He loved shopping and collected everything from paintings and sculpture to furniture, jewelry, and decorative arts.

January 11: Embracing it All – Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg wanted to live among works by artists that had importance to his work. He acquired work through purchase, exchange and gifts, and his collection was full of works by the who’s who of the art world.

February 15: S Curves – Frank Stella, Cindy Sherman, and Pat Steir

You would expect three uniquely different artists to have distinct points of view. Frank Stella collects Old Masters and paintings by contemporaries, Cindy Sherman tends to collect young artists and work by her friends, and Pat Steir claims she is not a collector, but there is evidence to the contrary.

March 8: Multiplicity of Concepts – Eric Fischl/April Gornik and Sol LeWitt

We’ll investigate the collection of married artists April Gornik and Eric Fischl, who are likely to buy what they see and fall in love with. On the other hand, Sol LeWitt focused on subject matter that included investigations of traditionally “non-art” areas such as language and the artistic process itself.

April 12: Distinct Visions – Robert Motherwell, Ed Ruscha, Carroll Dunham, and Ursula von Rydingsvard

Robert Motherwell was an abstract expressionist painter, and his collection reflects that interest. Ed Ruscha was drawn to work by California friends and likes a bit of irreverence. Carroll Dunham seems drawn to work that is more conceptual, and Ursula von Rydingsvard prefers objects carved from wood and Asian textiles.