Crystal Bridges will reopen its 1940s to Now gallery this month with new acquisitions, including five works by Helen Frankenthaler.
Portions of the gallery opened Friday, and the remainder will be available to the public at the end of the month. Crystal Bridges made multiple purchases in 2014 and the re-opening of the gallery featuring post-World War II works allows the museum to display 14 of those works, plus two pieces donated to the institution.
"We acquired so many works in 2014 and now is the time to debut them," curator Chad Alligood said. "We have some incredible acquisitions that give us a brand new look at American art in the post-war period."
Crystal Bridges recently closed its "State of the Art" exhibit which had been occupying space previously occupied by the 1940s to Now gallery.
Among the works on display as part of the new exhibition are five from artist Helen Frankenthaler, highlighted by her 1957 painting Seven Types of Ambiguity. Crystal Bridges worked with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in New York over the last year to purchase works from the American abstract painter.
Other Frankenthaler paintings that are part of the Crystal Bridges collection are Untitled (1951) and Pink Bird Figure II (1961). The Bullfight (1958) and Untitled (1980) are works on paper from Frankenthaler.
Frankenthaler Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Smith said that her organization was pleased the artist's work had found its way to "the distinguished collection of American art at Crystal Bridges." The foundation was established in 2013 and conversations with Crystal Bridges began not long after it made works from Frankenthaler available after her death in 2011.
"Part of the mission of the foundation is to make sure our collection of works is available to the public," Smith said. "When museums express an interest to us we take that request very seriously. We want to make sure the works can be viewed and enjoyed by a broad audience. Crystal Bridges is public in orientation and has demonstrated a focused approach to collection building."
Crystal Bridges was seeking works viewed as significant in Frankenthaler's early career. Frankenthaler, Smith said, considered her Seven Types of Ambiguity and Untitled paintings as "very important works in her development."
"Working directly with the foundation means we are able to really build out the story in a meaningful way and talk to experts and get the right work for the story we are trying to tell," Alligood said. "Frankenthaler is an incredibly important painter because she serves as a bridge between abstract expressionism and what goes after."
Crystal Bridges also announced the debut of nine other acquisitions, including Robert Rauschenberg's The Tower (1957), a piece that combines painting and sculpture. Christie's once attempted an auction of The Tower for between $12 million and $18 million, but was unable to find a buyer, according to the New York Times.
Also included is Landscape, a painting by Mark Tansey, that sold in November at a Sotheby's auction. Crystal Bridges purchased the work for $3.7 million.
Acquisitions announced by the museum on Friday are valued at about $20 million, according to The New York Times. Crystal Bridges declined to comment on the estimated value of the announced acquisitions.
Metro on 03/21/2015