Neuberger Museum of Art
Embracing
the highest standards of artistic and professional excellence,
the Museum collects, preserves, presents and interprets
the art in its permanent collection and its changing
exhibitions. It is committed to creating an educational,
cultural, intellectual and collegial environment for
both Purchase College, State University of New York,
and the community at large.
Recognized nationally, the Museum's
significant collections, innovative exhibitions, and
interdisciplinary educational and public programs are
catalysts for a total cultural experience that positions
the Neuberger Museum of Art as Westchester County's
premiere cultural resource for Modern, contemporary
and African art.
Presenting 12 changing exhibitions
annually in addition to ongoing exhibitions from the
permanent collections, the Neuberger Museum of Art offers
visitors insights into the work of 20th century masters,
and mid-career and emerging artists, as well as exposure
to the county's only permanent exhibition of African
art.
Initiated in 1974 with Roy R. Neuberger's
donation of 108 works of art, the permanent collection
of the Neuberger Museum of Art has grown to over 6000
works of uncompromised quality and variety. Featuring
prestigious examples of modern, contemporary and African
art, holdings include the Roy R. Neuberger Collection
of American Art, the Aimee W. Hirshberg and Lawrence
Gussman Collections of African Art, the Hans Richter
bequest of Dada and Surrealist objects, the George and
Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist art, and American,
Mexican and European master works from the collection
of the late Dina and Alexander Racolin. The Neuberger
Museum of Art continues to collect and exhibit its permanent
collection, enacting Mr. Neuberger's commitment to supporting
the work of contemporary artists who examine and expand
the ideas of our day.
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Painting, along with sculpture, forms
the core of the Museum’s collection, providing
primary examples of the movements and individuals comprising
the history of modern art. Experimental or traditional,
representational or abstract, unique or in series, the
paintings embody the leaps and small steps that each
artist traveled as a creative individual and as a conduit
for time and place. From Cleve Gray’s monumental
Threnody to the Richard Pettibone collection of miniatures,
the Neuberger Museum hosts a great collection of singular
treasures. Artists represented in the collection include
Milton Avery, Will Barnett, William Baziotes, Jack Beal,
Patrick Henry Bruce, Thomas Cole, Stuart Davis, Willem
DeKooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Louis Michel Eilshemius,
Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Gatch, April Gornik, Cleve
Gray, William Gropper, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper,
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence,
Jack Levine, Roberto Matta, Georgia O’Keeffe,
Kenzo Okada, Jules Olitski, Nathan Oliveira, Jackson
Pollock, Maurice Prendergast, Bridget Riley, Larry Rivers,
Mark Rothko, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Joan Snyder,
Mark Tobey, and Max Weber.
African art has been an integral part
of the Neuberger Museum of Art since it opened in 1974.
In 1999, the collection almost doubled in size with
the major gift of 153 works from the collection of the
late Lawrence Gussman, a notable collector and a resident
of Scarsdale, New York.
Lawrence Gussman’s interest
in Africa began in 1957 when he met Dr. Alfred Schweitzer
at his hospital in Labarené (Gabon). This first
encounter sparkled a friendship between them that endured
until Schweitzer’s death in 1965. Also sharing
Dr. Schweitzer’s strong belief in humanitarian
aid, Gussman and his wife returned each year to work
at Dr. Schweitzer’s hospital. They both went for
over thirty years. It was in Gabon that Gussman’s
fascination with the art of Central Africa began; yet
despite his annual trips to Gabon, he collected only
in Europe and the United States, primarily through auction
houses, dealers and other collectors.
The African collection at the Neuberger Museum of Art
is strongest in the arts of central Africa. Major objects,
however, span a broad geographic range from Mali to
Mozambique, offering artistic insights into over thirty
cultures. Some of the splendid objects in the collection
and included on this website are a Ci-Wara headdress
from the Bamana peoples in Mali; a Bangwa commemorative
female figure from Cameroon recently attributed to the
carver Ateu Atsa; a stylistically delicate janus-face
Mende mask from Sierra Leone; an anthropomorphic Fang
harp among the only one known so far in a US museum,
a large figure from the Bembe peoples (Congo) better
known for their artistic mastery in miniature. The collection
is also distinguished by a rare Dogon shutter (Mali)
depicting a lizard surrounded by eight figures, the
most recent addition to the collection thanks to Denyse
and Marc Ginzberg and two powerful examples of Fang
Reliquary Guardian Figures (Gabon) that contrast both
in form and style.
Hours
Tuesday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday - Sunday 11
am to 5 pm. Closed Mondays and major holidays
Admission
Adults $5, Students $3, Seniors [62+] $3. Free for members,
children under 12, Purchase College
students, faculty & staff. Free First Saturday of
every month for all vistors
Gallery Talks
Tuesday - Friday at 1 pm / Sunday at 3 pm. These informal
gallery talks led by docents offer fresh insights into
the Museum's special exhibitions and permanent collections,
while allowing time for independent viewing of art in
the Museum. Gallery talks begin at the Museum Store
and reservations are not required. Free with Museum
admission.
Topic Tours
Sundays at 2 pm. Focusing on a specific topic, these
informal gallery talks led by docents explore different
aspects of the permanent exhibitions. Topics include
Faces & Figures in 20th Century Art, Understanding
Trends in Modern Art, and Symbols of Power & Belief:
African Art, to name a few. Please see the Events page
for a complete list of topics. Free with Museum admission. |
