THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART ANNOUNCES IMPORTANT ACQUISITION OF MAJOR WORKS BY WARHOL, ROSENQUIST, AND KELLY
Campbell's Soup Cans, F–111, and White Plaque: Bridge
Arch and Reflection to become part of MoMA's Permanent Collection
Three major paintings, including two seminal works of the 1960s representing
the apex of the Pop art movement, have been acquired by The Museum of Modern
Art, it was announced today by Museum Director Glenn D.Lowry.
Two of the works, Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) by Andy Warhol and
F–111 (1964–65) by James Rosenquist, are masterpieces of Popart, said
Kirk Varnedoe, Chief Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum
of Modern Art. The third painting is White Plaque: Bridge Arch and
Reflection (1951–55) by Ellsworth Kelly, aclassic example of early postwar,
hard-edged abstraction.
"American Pop art of the 1960s was one of the key movements in artglobally
at the time," said Varnedoe. "Campbell's Soup Cansand F–111 are
crucial additions in our goal to make the Museum's collection of works from the
1960s as strong as our collection of New York School paintings from the
1950s."
Varnedoe called the Kelly painting an important addition to the permanent
collection, which also includes the artist's Colors for a Large Wall
(1951), Kelly's masterpiece from his Paris years of1948–54 and a gift of the
artist. "Together, these two works provide the Museum a superb representation of
this period in Kelly's career,"Varnedoe said.
The Warhol painting was acquired as a partial gift from the collectionof
New York art dealer and collector Irving Blum. The Rosenquist piece was obtained
from a private American collection through New York art dealer Jeffrey Deitch.
The Kelly painting was acquired through London art dealer Waddington Galleries
Ltd., from a private collection; it is a fractional and promised gift of Emily
Rauh Pulitzer, a member of the Museum's Board of Trustees.
Lowry said the acquisitions illustrate the Museum's ongoing efforts to add
to its permanent collection defining works that epitomize keymoments in
twentieth-century art.
"Campbell's Soup Cans and F–111 represent two of the summits
of 1960s Pop art," Lowry said. "They define the artists, the period, and,
indeed, the generation in which they were created. We are extremely pleased that
we were able to keep both works from going abroad,and that we could reach an
agreement with the previous owners, both of whom felt the works should be in New
York at The Museum of Modern Art." Headded that White Plaque: Bridge Arch
and Reflection represented an indispensable addition to the Museum's
collection of pioneering masterworks from the 1950s.
Blum, who acquired Campbell's Soup Cans directly from the artist in
1962, said, "I am greatly pleased that this work will be readily available to
the American public and shown and cared for by The Museum of Modern Art."
Campbell's Soup Cans, synthetic polymer paint on canvas,consists of
thirty-two panels, each measuring 20 x 16 inches. Each panel portrays a
different variety of Campbell's soup. In color and style,each panel is
identical, the only difference being the name of the particular variety depicted
in each one.
F–111 is a massive oil on canvas measuring 10 feet high and
a staggering 86 feet wide. Like Warhol, Rosenquist once worked as a commercial
artist, but with a twist. His speciality was painting hugeadvertising
billboards in New York City's Times Square and other locales. The billboard
influence is readily apparent in the massive breadth of F–111, in which
an F–111 fighter bomber serves as the central image, spanning an array of motifs
ranging from popular consumer productsto nuclear war.
White Plaque: Bridge Arch and Reflection, an oil on wood consisting
of two panels separated by a wood strip, measures 64 x 48 1/2inches. It will be
on view in the upcoming exhibition Ellsworth Kelly:A Retrospective, at
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York from October 18 through January 15,
1997.
Campbell's Soup Cans and F–111 will be on view at The Museum
of Modern Art beginning November 15, in an exhibition of contemporary art from
the permanent collection organized by Kynaston McShine, Senior Curator,
Department of Painting and Sculpture.
Douglas S. Cramer, a member of the Museum's Board of Trustees andthe
recently appointed Chairman of the Board's Committee on Painting and Sculpture,
said the acquisitions announced today build upon other recentadditions of
singular, unique masterworks to The Museum's permanent collection. These include
the 1995 acquisition of 18 October 1977(1988) by Gerhard Richter; the
1996 addition of Untitled Film Stills(1977–80) by Cindy Sherman; and the
promised gift by Agnes Gund, President of The Museum of Modern Art, of Jasper
Johns's Untitled(1992–95).
For further information, contact John Wolfe, Director of Communications,
212/708–9747.
