Saint Louis Art Museum
Among the 22 donated works is Andy Warhol's 1967 "Self Portrait."
The Saint Louis Art Museum announced this morning that arts patron and philanthropist Emily Rauh Pulitzer has promised 22 works from her personal collection to the museum, a gift the museum says is "among the most significant" in its history.
The Pulitzer family has a long history of contributing to SLAM—there are already 144 works in the collection donated by Pulitzer, her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr., and Joseph's first wife, Louise Vauclain Pulitzer.
Included in the historic gift are works by 17 artists, among them modern and contemporary masters such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Joan Miró, and Constantin Brancusi. The Brancusi work, "Mademoiselle Pogany III," will be the first piece by the sculptor in the museum's collection.
“I am reminded of the statement by Professor Seymour Slive, the legendary director of Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum, when he once told me that the only way to build a great public museum collection was to acquire great private collections,” said Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum Min Jung Kim in a press release announcing the gift. “Emily Pulitzer is the living embodiment of that observation. The Saint Louis Art Museum will forever be in her debt.”
The announcement also emphasized the impact of the gift on the existing collection, which will be reinforced by new Cubist works and paintings representative of a period of Mirò's output not previously explored in SLAM's holdings. Another particular strength among the 22 promised pieces is post-war American art. The list of donated items includes notable works by Andy Warhol and Ellsworth Kelly and more recent pieces from Rachel Harrison and Gedi Sibony.
“As an encyclopedic museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum plays a unique role in the lives of St. Louis residents, illuminating art from a great variety of places and historical eras," said Pulitzer in the press release. "I am delighted to enrich the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art with this gift and look forward to seeing it resonate with other works in the museum’s diverse collections.”
There is not currently a timeline for when the pieces will appear in the museum, but the announcement noted that the promised works will be transferred at or before Pulitzer's death depending on her wishes. Until they find their way into the galleries at 1 Fine Arts Drive, you can start getting acquainted with some of the new additions to the collection below.
1 of 14
Saint Louis Art Museum
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, French, 1861–1929; “Mask of Beethoven”, c.1905; bronze with brown patina, partially gilded, hollow mask form (sand cast); 16 9/16 x 11 3/4 x 6 inches, Photograph by Lisa Mitchell
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Georges Rouault, French, 1871–1958; “Three Clowns”, 1917; oil on paper laid down on canvas; 41 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches; © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2021, Photograph by Bob Kolbrener
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Medardo Rosso, Italian, 1858–1928; “The Golden Age”, 1886; pigmented wax over plaster 14 1/2 x 18 3/4 x 6 inches; Photograph by Robert Pettus
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Richard Tuttle, American, born 1941; “New Mexico, New York #2”, 1998; acrylic on fir plywood; irregular: 19 x 24 inches; © Richard Tuttle, Courtesy of the artist and Pace Gallery
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Joan Miró, Spanish, 1893–1983; “48”, 1927; oil and aqueous medium on glue-sized canvas; 57 1/2 x 45 inches; © Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2021
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Philip Guston, American (born Canada), 1913–1980; “Dark Room”, 1978; oil on canvas; 68 x 80 inches; © 2021 Estate of Philip Guston, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth, Photograph by Jean Paul Torno
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Rachel Harrison, American, born 1966; “Photograph”, 2020; pigmented inkjet print; 12 x 16 inches; © Rachel Harrison, Courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York, Photograph by Zeshan Ahmed
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Rachel Harrison, American, born 1966; “Sculpture with Raincoat”, 2012; wood, Styrofoam, cement, acrylic, hanger, The Economist magazine, and Gherardini rain coat; 68 x 27 x 20 1/2 inches; © Rachel Harrison, Courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York, Photograph by Jason Mandella
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Constantin Brancusi, Romanian (active France), 1876–1957; “Mademoiselle Pogany III”, 1933; polished bronze, limestone, wood; bronze: 17 1/2 x 7 x 9 1/2 inches, limestone base: 9 x 9 1/2 x 9 inches, wooden pedestal: 37 5/8 x 15 x 15 inches; © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (ARS) 2021, Photograph by Robert Pettus
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Andy Warhol, American, 1928–1987; “Self Portrait”, 1967; synthetic polymer paint silkscreened, brushed, and stenciled on canvas; 72 x 72 inches; © 2021 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photograph by Lisa Mitchell
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Georges Braque, French, 1882–1963; “The Mantelpiece”, 1921–1922; oil with sand on canvas; 51 1/4 x 29 1/4 inches; © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Gedi Sibony, American, born 1973; “The Other Great Abundance”, 2014; decommissioned aluminum semi-trailer; 96 1/4 x 75 inches; © Gedi Sibony, Courtesy of the artist and Greene Naftali, New York, Photograph by Elisabeth Bernstein
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881–1973; “Woman in a Red Hat”, 1934; oil on canvas; 57 5/8 x 44 3/4 inches; © 2021 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photograph by Jean Paul Torno
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Saint Louis Art Museum
Joan Miró, Spanish, 1893–1983; “Painting”, 1953; oil on canvas; 96 1/2 x 67 inches; © Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2021, Photograph by Dave Ulmer
