In addition to the permanently installed works by Ellsworth Kelly and Richard Serra, this exhibition featured a selection of paintings and sculptures from the private collection of Joseph and Emily Rauh Pulitzer. The works on view spanned the extent of the twentieth century and represented a variety of artistic movements, including Minimalism, Cubism, Impressionism, and Pop Art. The artists featured in this inaugural exhibition included Roy Lichtenstein, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Kiki Smith, and Andy Warhol. Their works were installed without the addition of any wall labels in order to allow for a personal, unmediated experience with art inside the building designed by Tadao Ando—his first free-standing public institution in North America.
The works on view called attention to Joseph Pulitzer Jr.’s interest in contemporary art through four generations of living artists, in addition to his thoughtfulness and care as a collector. Curated by the Pulitzer’s Founder and Chair, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, the exhibition was installed to respond to the unique aesthetic and formal properties of the new building. In the Cube Gallery—the proportions of which reflect Ando’s geometrical precision—a selection of cubist works by Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris was among the exhibition’s many highlights.
