M. Rothkowitz, Bathers, ca. 1928
Gift of Louis and Annette Kaufman

Representing 100 years of generosity MUSEION presents the finest works of art from the Reed College Art Collection, exhibited in conjunction with an interdisciplinary array of artifacts and ethnographic objects, all donated to the college over the past one hundred years.

The show is organized in celebration of the Reed College Centennial and should give us an idea how close Reed is to having a true university art museum (something I've been suggesting for years). It would take a major Alumus like...Peter Norton (one of the world's top collectors, or Steve Jobs) to make it happen (I and Portland sure wish it would but Reed keeps its own counsel).

According to the press release, "specified areas will change and grow in response to conversations with guest interlocutors. These shifts will catalyze different perspectives and insights into the history of the Reed College Art Collection, the changing nature of curatorial practice, and the condition of the artwork's complicated life as both autonomous entity and historical agent within the museum context." Wouldn't it be nice for Reed Students to have access to the permanent collection all of the time?

MUSEION features important and rarely seen works by; Mark Rothko (Portland's most famous and under represented artist), Louis Michel Eilshemius, Milton Avery, Morris Graves, C.S. Price, and Mark Tobey, donated to the Reed College Art Collection by renowned American violinist, and Portland native, Louis Kaufman and his wife Annette; the Estate of Reed College Anthropology Professor David French '39 (1918-1984) and his wife Katherine (1922-2006), and important regional and national collectors, and friends of the college. In addition, MUSEION features works by contemporary artists, including: Marc Joseph Berg, David Reed '68, Laurie Reid '85, Elspeth Pratt, Leonie Guyer, Michael Brophy, Carol Benson, and Kim Dingle.

Cooley Galllery, Reed College
September 6–December 7, 2011
Opening reception: September 13, 6-9 p.m.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Cooley Gallery will present a public talk and performance by New York artist and Reed alumna Jamie Isenstein '98 on October 27, 2011, and a table-making dinner event and installation by Michael Hebb.