HMA to present The Collection of Alex E. Booth Jr.

Sep. 28—HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Museum of Art will present "The Collection of Alex E. Booth Jr." exhibit through Dec. 3.

"This exhibit will showcase some of the amazing gifts of art entrusted to the Huntington Museum of Art by the late Dr. Booth, whose name graces the foyer of the Museum," HMA Executive Director Geoffrey K. Fleming said. "This collection features some treasured contemporary works, including original paintings by Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline."

Alex E. Booth Jr. (1925-2017). He joined the Board of Trustees in the early 1960s and immediately began to steer the museum toward contemporary art, first with a significant gift to help fund the purchase of an Alexander Calder mobile in 1965. He quickly followed this donation with the provision of funds to acquire a drawing by Georges Braque, as well as a gift of historic works by John Singer Sargent and Samuel F.B. Morse. His appointment as Building Committee chairman during the 1960s seemed to galvanize his resolve that the museum's holdings reflect the modernist spirit in 20th century art.

Booth's work with architect Walter Gropius during the design and construction of the museum's 1970 addition served as a strong inspiration, and he worked diligently to see that the new space would include work by contemporary artists. When the museum sought to match acquisition funds available through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, he supplied the financial resources that allowed for purchases of work by contemporary sculptors Seymour Lipton, Leonard Baskin, Harry Bertoia, and others. He also provided funds to acquire paintings by two giants of mid-century American art: Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline. He later enriched the collection with an assortment of gifts that included an expressive George Bellows drawing, a painting by the American impressionist Edward Henry Potthast, and historic sculpture from Asia, ancient Rome, and the Americas that reflected his world travels.

"It has been a privilege to work with the Booth family over the years and witness firsthand what an astute and visionary art collector Alex Booth was," Fleming said. "His guidance over the years with the Walter Gropius Master Artist Program, which was funded for decades by a bequest by his mother, Roxanna Y. Booth, was always greatly appreciated."

A more recent gift, from 2004, was a pastel drawing that depicted Huntington's Ritter Park by the artist Wolf Kahn while he was a workshop leader in the Museum's Walter Gropius Master Artist Program in 1994. The Gropius program, which has brought contemporary artists to teach classes and exhibit their work at HMA for more than 25 years, was funded by a generous bequest from Alex Booth's mother, Roxanna Y. Booth.

For more information, call (304) 529-2701.