INDIANAPOLIS, IN.- The
Indianapolis Museum of Art announced today the successful completion of its goal to secure 125 gifts to the permanent collection in honor of the Museums 125th anniversary. Ranging from old masters to contemporary works, the gifts include paintings, textiles, sculpture, prints and design arts, enriching each of the IMAs collecting areas.
No single factor is more important to the Museums legacy than the continued, robust and imaginative growth of our permanent collection, said Maxwell L. Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the IMA. The generosity of those patrons who have donated these 125 works honors the IMAs past, marks a milestone in the Museums history, and sets an auspicious tone for its future.
In an effort spearheaded by Ellen W. Lee, the Wood-Pulliam Distinguished Senior Curator at the IMA, Museum curators carefully targeted and sought strategic additions to the collection through a 16-month campaign to honor the IMAs landmark anniversary. Many of the 125 works are already in the care of the IMA, and some are currently on view in the galleries. Other works will enter the Museum collection at future dates as donor commitments are fulfilled.
I cannot imagine a more tangible sign of a museums vigor than the acquisition of important works of art, said Lee. Some of the pieces had been coveted by our curators for years; others were exciting surprises. Many IMA friends responded enthusiastically to our campaign, making commitments that surpassed our ambitious objective.
For more than a century, the generosity of IMA patrons has spurred the growth of the Museums permanent collection, which today consists of more than 54,000 objects that span the globe and 5,000 years of artistic expression. Approximately 90 percent of these works have come through gift or bequest, enabling the Museum to bring treasured works of art once held in the private sector to public awareness, and to preserve them for future generations.
The IMA website features highlights of the anniversary gifts.
Visit
www.imamuseum.org/125years/125-gifts.
Some highlights from the 125 gifts include:
St. Luke, about 1610-1614, El Greco and workshop, Spanish, oil on canvas, The Clowes Fund Collection
Farmers Fighting in Springtime, 1641, Zhang Chong, Chinese, ink on silk, Gift of Francine and Roger Hurwitz
The Quai dAusterlitz, about 1877, Armand Guillaumin, French, oil on canvas, Gift of Elaine Ewing Fess and Stephen W. Fess
Old Pines, about 1900, Suzuki Shonen, Japanese, pair of 6-panel screens, ink on gold, paper, Gift of John and Cynde Barnes
The Dream of Spring, 1901, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, French, oil on canvas, Promised gift of Melvin and Bren Simon
Evening dress, winter, 1926-27, Jeanne Lanvin, French, Gift of Amy Curtiss Davidoff
Study for Petunias, 1928, Blanche Lazzell, American, charcoal, Gift of Dr. Steven Conant in memory of Mrs. H. L. Conant
Gamin, 1929, Augusta Savage, American, hand-painted plaster, Deaccessioned Sculpture Fund (Given in part to the IMA by the Indianapolis Chapter of the Links, Inc.)
Hat for man, 1960-1990, Turkana or Pokot people, Kenya (Eastern Africa), clay, resin, cane, feathers, human hair, metal, pigment, Gift of Edward DeCarbo in honor of Roy and Sophie Sieber
Jimmy Carter, 1976, Andy Warhol, American, color screen print, Estate of Eldon and Freida Nyhart
Light-Light Armchair (Prototype), 1988, Alberto Meda, Italian, carbon fiber, Mfr: Alias, Purchased with funds provided by James E. and Patricia J. LaCrosse
Duvor (communal cloth), 2007, El Anatsui, Ghanaian, Gift of Ann and Chris Stack
From #258 Drawing (Tracings from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the L.A. River), 2007, Ingrid Calame, American, enamel paint on aluminum, Carmen & Mark Holeman Contemporary Fund
Light and Space III, 2008, Robert Irwin, American, florescent lights, Purchased with funds provided by Ann M. and Chris Stack, The Ballard Fund, Nancy Foxwell Neuberger Acquisition Endowment Fund, Anonymous Art Fund, Lucille Stewart Endowed Art Fund, Martha M. Shertzer Art Purchase Fund in Memory of Her Nephew, Charles S. Sands, Roger G. Wolcott Fund, Gift of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Frank Curtis Springer & Irving Moxley Springer Purchase Fund, E. Hardey Adriance Fine Arts Acquisition Fund in memory of Marguerite Hardey Adriance, Emma Harter Sweetser Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Crane Fund, Elizabeth S. Lawton Fine Art Fund, Cecil F. Head Art Fund, Mary V. Black Art Endowment Fund, General Endowed Art Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore P. Van Vorhees Art Fund, General Memorial Art Fund, General Art Fund, James V. Sweetser Fund
The IMA began its year-long anniversary celebration on October 11, 2008, with a fundraising gala that raised $650,000 to support IMA annual programming. Guests of the event included prominent contemporary artists from across the United States. The evening included a live auction conducted by Christies of works produced by the artists in attendance. The nights festivities also included the unveiling of one of the 125 gifts to the Museum, a commissioned work by internationally renowned sculptor Robert Irwin. The $1 million permanent installation inside Pulliam Great Hall, titled Light and Space III, was made possible through a combination of art purchase funds and a gift from Ann M. and Chris Stack. The event was chaired by IMA board member Wayne Zink.