Benton Celebrates Drawings
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Seated Male Nude, about 1618-1624. Princeton University Art Museum |
Pomona College's Benton Museum of Art will open two drawing exhibitions this February, one a selection of Italian works from Princeton, and the other sourced from the Benton collection and that of Jack Shear, Ellsworth Kelly's widower.
"500 Years of Italian Drawings from the Princeton University Art Museum" will present 95 sheets by artists spanning Parmigianino, Guercino, Bernini, Tiepolo, and Modigliani. Currently at Florida's Ringling Museum of Art, it comes to the Benton Feb. 16 through June 23, 2024.
"Infinity on Paper: Drawings from the Collections of the Benton Museum of Art and Jack Shear" will have works by more than 50 artists. Below, a COVID still life, in colored pencil and watercolor, by Manuel López.
Manuel López, Twenty Twenty Still Life, 2020. Benton Museum of Art |
Comments
One of the best museums in the US. Full stop. With Yale, the best college collections. Harvard is excellent, but lacks the depth and breadth of its CT and NJ peers.
They finally recently got an ounce of sense: Admission by all visitors is now free. [By contrast, Yale and Princeton have been free forever.]
I say gobsmacking because Harvard has more money than the economies of 120 nations.
[Per Moneywatch's Aimee Picchi, December 12, 2023]
Harvard's collection is about the same size as Yale's, if one counts the Yale Center for British Art. (Yale accounts for it separately.)
For those wondering, both Yale and Harvard's collections are larger than LACMA's.
As to quality, Yale's is better overall. But Harvard has some notable pieces. Princeton is lacking in both quality and notable pieces.
Or is it a commentary on that other artist's work?
The WOOD grain makes me wonder.
If in Jersey, worth a journey.