Overview
The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University possesses one of the most extraordinary collections of any academic institution, spanning the last century in Western art, from the early European and American Modernists up to the 21st century. This catalogue of its holdings demonstrates the breadth of the collection.
Early purchases from the 1960s dominate the core of the collection, including works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Willem De Kooning, and Andy Warhol. Contemporary works by artists such as Nam June Paik, Richard Prince, Matthew Barney, and Gregory Crewdson add to its luster. Essays on individual periods by Brandeis faculty, alumni, and distinguished critics put the collection into perspective.
Synopsis
The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University possesses one of the most extraordinary collections of any academic institution, spanning the last century in Western art, from the early European and American Modernists up to the 21st century. This catalogue of its holdings demonstrates the breadth of the collection.
Early purchases from the 1960s dominate the core of the collection, including works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Willem De Kooning, and Andy Warhol. Contemporary works by artists such as Nam June Paik, Richard Prince, Matthew Barney, and Gregory Crewdson add to its luster. Essays on individual periods by Brandeis faculty, alumni, and distinguished critics put the collection into perspective.
Library Journal
Obviously conceived before the early 2009 threatened closure of the museum and dispersal of the 7000-item collection, this is a selection of the choicest works from the Rose Art Museum. Director Rush contributes a brief, informative survey of how the collections were built in a university environment, frequently directly from artists or by curators working with donors for the museum. Six scholars provide mini-essays on areas of strength (American modernism, social realism and surrealism, postwar American art and abstract expressionism, pop and minimalism, photography and photorealism, and contemporary art). Commentaries on the almost 200 individual works reproduced are frequently by alumni, a nice way of showing the impact of a university museum collection. Although this book does not address the threat to the collection, and the outcome remains uncertain, the intrinsic quality of the works discussed and the documentary significance of this overview speak quite poignantly about the value of an art museum in a university setting. VERDICT Recommended for its collection of works of enduring value and timely topical interest.—Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs.\