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Contemporary American Prints: Recent Acquisitions

DATES September 27, 1985 through December 30, 1985
ORGANIZING DEPARTMENT American Art
COLLECTIONS American Art
There are currently no digitized images of this exhibition. If images are needed, contact archives.research@brooklynmuseum.org.
  • September 27, 1985 In December 1984, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation awarded The Brooklyn Museum the first grant it has ever given for the accquisition of contemporary graphics. Since the spirit of the grant was to place the works of as many artists as possible in the Museum’s collection, certain guidelines were established: the works purchased had to be either by Americans or by artists working primarily in this country, the artists had to be unrepresented in the permanent collection of prints, prices had to fall beneath a certain ceiling, and a balance had to be struck between established and emergent artists.

    The Museum thus acquired the forty-seven works by forty-one artists that comprise this collection. A number of gaps in the Department of Prints and Drawings’ holdings were filled, and prints by several artists that the department’s curators were interested in but would normally have been unable to purchase were added to the permanent collection.

    The Brooklyn Museum, through its ongoing series of National Print Exhibitions, has for many years been in the forefront of exhibiting contemporary American prints. With this generous grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, it has been able to add a large body of work in a field for which it is well known.

    BARRY WALKER
    Associate Curator
    Department of Prints and Drawings


    EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
    Note: Dimensions are in inches; height precedes width.

    1 Roger Barr (English, b. 1957)
    War Dance, 1984
    Gum bichromate and cyanotype
    Composition: 27 1/2 x 19 7/8
    Sheet: 29 7/8 x 22
    85.28

    2 Cathey Billian (American, b. 1946)
    Aching Risk, 1981-82
    Aluminum plating stencils
    Plate/sheet: 42 x 29 1/2
    85.29

    3 Edward Brezinski (American, b. 1954)
    Face, 1983
    Linoleum cut
    Composition: 43 1/2 x 37
    Sheet: 47 x 41 1/2
    85.35.1

    4 Richard Carboni (American, b. 1953)
    Knot, 1981
    Drypoint, roulette, college, handcoloring
    Composition: 9 3/4 x 8
    Sheet: 15 5/8 x 13 1/2
    85.36

    5 Louisa Chase (American, b. 1951)
    Chasm, 1983
    Woodcut
    Composition: 24 x 28
    Sheet: 26 1/8 x 30 1/8
    85.60.1

    6 Sandro Chia (Italian, b. 1945)
    Remembrance, 1983
    Etching
    Plate: 23 3/4 x 17 7/8
    Sheet: 48 x 31 3/4
    85.56.1

    7 Francesco Clemente (Italian, b. 1952)
    Untitled (Head), 1984
    Lithograph
    Composition: 20 x 16
    Sheet: 42 3/4 x 30 1/2
    85.52

    8 Sue Coe (English, b. 1951)
    It’s Like A Jungle, 1984
    Photo etching
    Composition: 9 7/8 x 15 1/8
    Sheet: 111/2 x 18
    85.55.1

    9 Chuck Connelly (American, b. 1956)
    Untitled, 1983
    Linoleum cut
    Composition: 9 x 6
    Sheet: 21 x 17 1/2
    85.35.2

    10 Jane Dickson (American, b. 1952)
    Woman on Balcony, 1984
    Monotype
    Comp./sheet: 17 x 9 7/8
    83.35.3

    11 Nancy Dwyer (American, b. 1954)
    No Answer, 1984
    Screenprint
    Comp./sheet: 30 x 22 1/2
    85.97

    12 Aaron Fink (American, b. 1955)
    Man With Fan Hand, 1982
    Lithograph
    Composition: 12 1/4 x 10 1/8
    Sheet: 15 1/4 x 19 1/4
    85.44

    13 Anthony Gorny (American, b. 1950)
    Magpie Caliper, 1976-80
    Lithograph, printed both sides
    Composition, recto: 29 1/2 x 18 1/4
    Composition, verso: 30 5/8 x 28 5/8
    Sheet: 34 1/2 x 32 5/8 (irregular)

    14 Harmony Hammond (American, 1944)
    Ruffled Waters, 1981
    Monotype
    Composition: 15 x 15
    Sheet: 30 x 22 1/4
    85.51

    15 David Humphrey (American, b. 1955)
    Nocturne, 1984
    Linoleum cut
    Composition: 10 x 10
    Sheet: 18 x 18
    85.42

    16 Bryan Hunt (American, b. 1947)
    Untitled from Five Falls portfolio, circa 1978
    Etching and aquatint
    Plate: 4 3/4 x 6 3/8
    Sheet: 20 x 13
    85.37

    17 Bill Jensen (American, b. 1945)
    Studio, 1983-84
    Etching, aquatint
    Plate: 6 7/8 x 4 7/8
    Sheet: 19 7/8 x 15 1/4
    85.59

    18 Roberto Juarez (American, b. 1952)
    Juncos, 1983
    Composition: 13 x 6 3/4
    Sheet: 19 x 12 3/4
    85.60.2

    19 John Lesnick (American, b. 1953)
    Untitled (Hooded Figure) from Future Icons, Circa 1984, 1983
    Photo screenprint
    Composition: 13 1/2 x 9 5/8
    Sheet: 22 1/8 x 15
    85.39

    20 Elizabeth Murray (American, b. 1940)
    Inside Story, 1984
    Lithograph, handcolored with watercolor
    Comp./sheet: 58 1/4 x 36 1/4
    85.32.1

    21 Bruce Nauman (American, b. 1941)
    Raw War, 1971
    Lithograph
    Comp./sheet: 22 1/4 x 28 1/4
    85.31

    22 Alastair Noble (British, b. 1954)
    Reflected Confrontation, 1983
    Woodblock, aquatint, bronze powder, copper leaf
    Comp./sheet: 34 x 45 3/4
    85.46

    23 Clayton Patterson (Canadian, b. 1948)
    Black Beauty, 1984
    Woodcut with watercolor and pastel
    Comp./sheet: 45 7/8 x 36 7/8
    85.60.3

    24 Judy Pfaff (American, b. 1946)
    Yoyogi, 1984
    Woodblock
    Comp./sheet: 31 3/4 x 35 7/8
    85.96

    25 Jay Phillips (American, b. 1954)
    Landscape IV, 1984
    Monotype with lithograph
    Comp./sheet: 29 1/2 x 36 1/2
    85.58

    26 Howardena Pindell (American, b. 1943)
    Kyoto: Positive/Negative, 1981
    Lithograph, etching, aquatint, chine collé
    Comp./sheet: 26 1/4 x 20 1/2
    85.48

    27 Jane Ash Poitras (Canadian, 1951)
    Buffalo Spirit, 1984
    Etching, intaglio print
    Plate: 26 3/4 x 24 3/4
    Sheet: 28 3/4 x 26 3/4
    85.49

    28 Andrea Rosenberg (American, b. 1952)
    Untitled, 1984
    Lithograph
    Composition: 24 x 18
    Sheet: 42 x 30
    85.95

    29 Alan Saret (American, b. 1944)
    Stars in the Sacred Ground, 1983
    Suite of 7 etchings
    Image, each: 3 1/2 x 3 1/4
    Sheet, each: 10 1/2 x 9 1/4
    85.41.1-.7

    30 Italo Scanga (American, b. Italy, 1932)
    The Bombing of Monte Cassino, 1984
    Woodcut
    Composition: 22 7/8 x 18 1/2
    Sheet: 28 x 20
    85.60.4

    31 Alix du Serech (American, b. France, 1947)
    Plate V from Antiseptic Power Contest Information File Folder, 1984
    Screenprint with glitter
    Comp./sheet: 30 x 22 1/4
    85.53

    32 Joel Shapiro (American, b. 1941)
    Untitled, 1979
    Lithograph
    Composition: 31 7/8 x 37 1/4
    Sheet: 37 1/2 x 42 1/4
    85.32.2

    33 John P. Shaw (American, b. 1948)
    Brooklyn Bridge, 1983
    Linoleum cut
    Composition: 7 7/8  x 10
    Sheet: 19 7/8 x 25 7/8
    85.47

    34 Michael Singer (American, b. 1945)
    7 Moon Ritual Series, 1984
    Etching and embossing
    Comp./sheet: 33 x 98
    85.56.2

    35 Pat Steir (American, b. 1940)
    The Tree After Hiroshige, 1984
    Etching
    Composition: 24 x 36
    Sheet: 32 1/4 x 43 1/8
    85.33

    36 Gary Stephen (American, b. 1942)
    Untitled (From A Tree Four Fire), 1984
    Lithograph, screenprint
    Comp./sheet: 19 5/8 x 17 1/4
    85.98

    37 Michelle Stuart (American)
    Correspondences: Time; Connecticut Fuchia, 1983
    Lithograph and dye transfer photograph
    Comp./sheet: 24 x 29 1/8
    85.57

    38 William Tucker (English, b. Egypt, 1935)
    House of the Hanged Man, 1982
    Lithograph
    Comp./sheet: 29 1/2 x 41 1/2
    85.38.2

    39 Richard Tuttle (American, b. 1941)
    Suite II, 1983
    Spit bite and sugar lift
    Comp./sheet: 42 x 29 1/2
    84.43.1

    40 Michael Volonakis (American, b. 1952)
    Acadea, 1983
    Lithograph
    Comp./sheet: 19 7/8 x 26 1/8
    85.38.1

    41 Robert Wilson (American, b. 1944)
    Overture Chair, 1977
    Etching
    Composition: 14 7/8 x 15 3/4
    Sheet: 27 x 22 1/4
    85.43.2

    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1985, 063-66.
    View Original
  • September 27, 1985 Contemporary American Prints: Recent Acquisitions, an exhibition of forty-seven works by forty-one artists is currently on view in the Museum’s second floor Print Gallery and will be on display through December 2, 1985.

    This exhibition, curated by Barry Walker, Associate Curator, Department of Prints and Drawings, presents works that were purchased in December, 1984 through a grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. The spirit of this grant, the first ever given by the Tiffany Foundation for the purchase of graphics, was to benefit both the Museum and the artists. For this reason, only works by artists not yet represented in the permanent collection of the Department of Prints and Drawings were eligible for acquisition with grant monies. The Brooklyn Museum was thus able to fill several gaps in its collection of contemporary prints., while a number of emergent artists received a significant boost to their careers by the inclusion of their work in a major collection.

    So that a creditable body of work could be acquired in the name of the Tiffany Foundation, the grant placed a ceiling on the price that could be paid f or any single work or portfolio. The Museum was thereby enabled to acquire forty single works and one portfolio, Stars in a Sacred Ground by Alan Saret. A number of the artists represented in this collection (Louisa Chase, Aaron Fink, Anthony Gorny, Harmony Hammond, Roberto Juarez, Elizabeth Murray, Jay Phillips, Joel Shapiro and Pat Steir) had been exhibited in The Brooklyn Museum’s Twenty-third National Print Exhibition. These and other of the artists had been on the department’s “want list” before the grant was awarded, while several works were first seen by the curator in the process of assembling work for the grant.

    The grant specified that works purchased must be by artists who were either American or working primarily in this country. The latitude of these terms made it possible for the Museum to add to its collection representative works by the Italians Sandro Chia and Francesco Clemente, the English Roger Barr, Sue Coe, Alastair Noble and William Tucker, and the Canadians Clayton Patterson and Jane Ash Poitras. All other artists in this collection are either American born or of American citizenship.

    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1985, 067.
    View Original