WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Corcoran Gallery of Art presents "Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art from the Broad Collections", on view through June 3, 2002. Eli and Edythe L. Broad have amassed one of the finest private collections of contemporary art in the world. In 1984 they established The Broad Art Foundation to foster the public's appreciation of contemporary art and to serve as a lending and education resource. Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons, a selection of works from the Broads' private and foundation collections, has been organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is on view at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The extraordinary depth of this collection provides an opportunity to consider the careers of 19 of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century. The Corcoran presentation includes several works not on view in Los Angeles.

Spanning four decades, the collections include some of the most emblematic works in the history of postwar art. The exhibition features paintings such as Jasper Johns' Watchman (1964), Flag (1967), and Untitled (1975), his first crosshatch painting; Andy Warhol's iconic depictions of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and himself; and Roy Lichtenstein's I…I'm Sorry (1965-66), as well as his five-part Rouen Cathedral (Seen at Five Different Times of the Day), Set III (1969). An important aspect of the collections is the concentration on major figures from the 1980s, such as Cy Twombly, John Baldessari and Sharon Lockhart.

In addition to the expansive holdings of iconic Pop Art, the Broad collections include the work of many artists who first achieved prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as artists who emerged in the 1990s. "Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons offers one of the first opportunities to consider the 1980s-a decade of economic prosperity and an overheated, politicized art world centered in New York City-in art historical terms," says co-curator Lynn Zelevansky, Curator and Department Head, Modern and Contemporary Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The exhibition showcases the work of artists such as Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cindy Sherman. Koons' Pop-inspired, seductive interpretations of common subject matter is an important part of the Broad collections, including Balloon Dog (1994-2001), which is making its East Coast debut in this exhibition. Also featured is the work of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as well as the staged photographs of Cindy Sherman, which often address issues of class, race, gender, and raise questions about cultural values.

Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons also highlights work by contemporary German artists, including recent wood sculptures by Stephan Balkenhol, photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher and mixed media canvases by Anselm Kiefer. These works reflect a growing awareness of international trends that have had a significant impact on the United States art scene.