Art steps into the spotlight this week at Northwestern and around the world. Here at NW, a wide range of media from the college’s permanent collection is on display. Internationally, the discovery last week of hundreds of lost works by Picasso takes center stage.
NW’s exhibit features about one-fourth of the permanent collection. When selecting pieces for the exhibit, art faculty aimed for “variety in media size and subject,” according to art professor Rein Vanderhill. He said faculty also considered the exhibit’s cohesiveness.
“When one hangs a show, the room becomes the artwork. Each piece interacts with the other, which determines what is selected,” Vanderhill said.
The entire collection contains around 100 pieces including paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. Some of the works are currently displayed around campus, such as in….
Each year, art faculty purchase one or two more pieces for the collection. Vanderhill said each purchase is based on the piece’s value as a teaching example and the enjoyment it could give the campus community.
Around the world, art collectors hope to purchase the hundreds of previously unknown Picasso works revealed by Pierre Le Guennec, a retired electrician who worked for the artist.
Le Guennec contacted Picasso’s estate to authenticate 271 pieces he says Picasso gave him as gifts. When Picasso’s son Claude deemed the pieces genuine, a few eyebrows raised.
“To give away such a large quantity, that’s unheard of. It doesn’t add up,” Claude said.
After being contacted by the Picasso family, French police raided Le Guennec’s house to confiscate the works. Investigators are now trying to establish how the electrician got hold of the pieces, which are estimated to be worth 80 million dollars.
It’s unlikely any of these surprise Picasso works will be on display anytime soon, but NW students can see the college’s exhibit starting Friday night. The art will be on display in Te Paske Gallery in the Korver Visual Arts Center through Dec. 15. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to midnight Sunday.
