The agreement for sharing the Stieglitz Art Collection, bequeathed in 1949 by artist Georgia O’Keeffe to Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., was finalized by the Chancery Court and the Tennessee Attorney General on June 13 and filed by the Davidson County Chancery Court on July 31.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Fisk University each now own a 50 percent interest in the collection, which will be exhibited at both institutions at rotating two-year intervals. The agreement will allow the works to remain on display at Fisk for two uninterrupted years out of every four, thus allowing every Fisk student the opportunity to view or study the artwork for a period during the student’s academic career.
The Stieglitz Collection will be available for view and study by a wide audience at Crystal Bridges during its alternating two-year stay in Bentonville, Ark. Once planning and coordination between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges has been completed, a debut exhibition schedule will be announced. Crystal Bridges has welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors since opening to the public on 11-11-11.
The sharing agreement will enable Crystal Bridges and Fisk to co-administer the ongoing care and maintenance of the works of art, advance the educational scope of the collection for study and public appreciation, and to expand the artistic legacy of the artists whose works are included in the collection.
About the Stieglitz Collection
In 1949, Georgia O’Keeffe donated to Fisk University The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Modern American and European Art. Consisting of 101 objects, 97 of which come from her late husband’s art collection and four that were owned by O’Keeffe, The Stieglitz Collection contains a survey of modern art from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, including those by such masters as Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, and Diego Rivera, who were revered by modern American artists such as Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Charles Demuth, who are also represented in the collection. Additionally, the collection includes the iconic painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, The Radiator Building.
Fisk University
Founded in 1866, Fisk University is Nashville’s first institution of higher education and it currently ranks in the top 10 percent of all liberal arts institutions in the nation, according to Washington Monthly. Fisk is one of six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) listed in Forbes magazine’s 2011 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” and has been ranked in The Princeton Review’s “Best 373 Colleges” publication for twenty consecutive years. U.S. News and World Report ranks Fisk #144 in the elite Tier One group of 246 liberal arts institutions selected for the distinction among the 1,400 colleges and universities in the nation and Fisk is one of only three HBCUs ranked in Tier One. Fisk has earned three R & D 100 Awards for work in the creation of radiation detectors developed in collaboration with several national laboratories and corporations. No other HBCU has earned an R & D 100 Award. According to the National Science Foundation, Fisk produces more African-Americans who go on to earn doctoral degrees in the natural sciences than any school in the nation. For more information on Fisk University, please visit www.fisk.edu
About Crystal Bridges
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.
Opened to the public on 11-11-11, Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 by Alice Walton, who chairs the Museum’s board of directors. CrystalBridges.org