News Release: 8 January 1999

Renowned Horowitz Collection of American Impressionism and Realism on View at National Gallery, 24 January - 9 May 1999

Washington, DC--Forty-nine works by such major figures in American art as George Bellows, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, John La Farge, Maurice Prendergast, Theodore Robinson, John Singer Sargent, John Twachtman, and J. Alden Weir will be on view in American Impressionism and Realism: The Margaret and Raymond Horowitz Collection at the National Gallery of Art, 24 January-9 May 1999.

The exhibition of superb oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, and drawings by twenty-five American artists is the first public display of the renowned collection in a quarter of a century.

"We are extremely grateful to Margaret and Raymond Horowitz for their long-standing generosity in lending works from their collection," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "Through painstaking and impeccable connoisseurship during almost forty years of collecting, they have formed one of the finest groups of American impressionist and realist works in private hands. We are proud to share their treasures with the nation."

Exhibition Highlights

Known for its exceptional quality, the Horowitz Collection is the result of deeply personal yet thoroughly informed choices. It embraces every category of subject, from portraits and self-portraits to figure and genre paintings to landscapes and still life. Important paintings by key figures in American impressionism include William Merritt Chase's radiant Shinnecock landscape The Fairy Tale (1892); Childe Hassam's exquisite Poppies (1891); Theodore Robinson's meticulously structured Low Tide, Riverside Yacht Club (1894); and Frank W. Benson's idyllic A Summer Day (1911). Striking realist paintings that will be on view are George Bellows' Emma in the Purple Dress (1919), a psychologically compelling portrait of the artist's wife, and Alfred Maurer's At the Shore (1901), a scene depicting a popular beach near New York City.

The collection includes exceptional works on paper. Among the breathtaking pastels are Chase's powerful Self-Portrait (c. 1884) and Back of a Nude (c. 1888), and Robert Blum's The Blue Obi (c. 1890-1893). Drawings and watercolors by John La Farge, John Singer Sargent, Maurice Prendergast, and William Glackens are also on exhibit.

Some artists are represented by single works, as in Cecilia Beaux's pastel portrait of Ethel Page (Mrs. James Large) (1890) and Robert Vonnoh's Springtime in France (1890), while other artists are represented several times in diverse media. The six Chases in the collection reflect the artist's achievement at its highest level of technical and expressive power, as do the four Robinsons, four Prendergasts, three Hassams, two Blums, and two Dennis Miller Bunkers.

The Collectors

Margaret and Raymond Horowitz--pioneers in the field when they began collecting American art in the early sixties share a passion, intellectual rigor, and vision for the kind of art they have acquired. Focusing on American impressionism and turn-of-the-century art, they are drawn to intense and intimate portraits and self-portraits, landscapes and urban scenes, and works that reflect a joyous celebration of life. Works from their collection have been generously lent to many exhibitions and museums throughout the years, and the collection was exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1966 and again in 1973. Over the last twenty-five years, the Horowitzes have refined and strengthened their collection significantly, adding such major works as Twachtman's September Sunshine (c. 1895) and Chase's Reflections (1893).

Two paintings in the exhibition, Hassam's Poppies (1891) and Weir's U.S. Thread Company Mills, Willimantic, Connecticut (c. 1893-1897), are partial and promised gifts to the National Gallery from the Horowitzes, who were members of the National Gallery's Collectors Committee from 1985 to 1993. Raymond Horowitz is currently a member of the Trustees Council.

Related Exhibition Information

The exhibition is organized by Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., senior curator of American and British paintings at the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated 196-page catalogue with 85 black-and-white and 57 color reproductions. It is available in the Gallery Shops for $29.95 (softcover only), and by calling (301) 322-5900 or (800) 697-9350. A special lecture, "Conversation with Collectors: Margaret and Raymond Horowitz," will be held on Sunday, 24 January, at 2:00 p.m. in the East Building auditorium. The event will be moderated by Franklin Kelly, curator of American and British paintings, National Gallery of Art. Admission is free. Other programs include noontime gallery talks by staff lecturers in the exhibition on 26 January and 31, and 2 February, 3, 5, 6, and 10.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

If you are a member of the press and would like to be added to our press list, click here.