The works of art included in this exhibition are selections from Roy R. Neuberger’s (American, born 1903) generous gift to Purchase College, State University of New York, which helped to establish the Neuberger Museum of Art. The exhibition sheds light on the aesthetic and social commitments of leading American artists in the middle of the twentieth century.
Roy Neuberger returned from a five-year stay in Paris in 1929, determined to go to work and collect art. He found an entry-level job on Wall Street, where he also met his future wife, Marie. He began his collection in the 1930s, and by the end of the decade Roy Neuberger was collecting seriously and had acquired major works by living artists.
He states, I collect because I love works of art and because, when I began, I believed that the contemporary world should buy the work of contemporary artists. I still do. When I started, I felt that in a small way I could render a service, because I would be able to help artists who were young and struggling.
At the heart of the exhibition is art of the 1940s and 1950s. This period in history was one of great expansion in the United States. New York was especially exciting, with the World’s Fair in 1939 at Flushing Meadow, Queens and with WWII bringing many European immigrants to the United States.
The influx of artists infused an already vital New York with a stimulating expansion of ideas. New York City became the established center of the art world, a place in which lively debates created a climate where crosscurrents not only proliferated at a rapid pace, but where artists gained support from a relatively small but influential group of critics, galleries, museums and private collectors.
No longer a contemporary collection, but rather one of historical importance, the paintings and sculptures here reflect the rich diversity in American art before the 1960s.
Image: Edward Hopper Barber Shop, 1931 Oil on canvas 60 x 78 inches Collection Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase College, State University of New York Gift of Roy R. Neuberger Photo: Jim Frank
www.neuberger.org