Fifteen Minutes of Fame Comes to NEC
Warhol's "Shoes"
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Andy Warhol Foundation has made a gift of approximately 28,000 photographic images from its collection to 183 colleges and universities across the country. In early April, New England College received 153 original Warhol photographs as one of the recipients of this generous and unprecedented gesture.
The Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program was created to provide greater access to Warhol’s artwork and process, and to enable a wider audience from communities across the country to view and study this important yet relatively unknown body of Warhol’s work.
The gift of photographs increases the holdings of the New England College Gallery by approximately 25% and more than triples the value of the permanent collection. According to Darryl Furtkamp, Gallery Director, the photographs will serve as a teaching tool and resource for students at the College and will enhance the Gallery’s role as an important educational facility for the arts and the community.
“Receiving a gift of this magnitude has so much more impact for an institution like New England College,” remarked Furtkamp. “Over the past few years we have created a strong visual arts program and have begun building relationships with major New York galleries. The exhibition schedule of the last year demonstrates a commitment to showing the finest work of local, regional, and even nationally known artists. This gift positions the New England College Gallery to build upon that success through high profile exhibitions and future support from donors.”
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a prominent figure in the Pop Art Movement of the 1960s and is well known for his paintings of Campbell’s soup cans and celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and John Wayne. He revolutionized the creation of fine art through mass production and the use of assistants rather than by direct contact with the artist.
The New England College Gallery will feature a selection of the College’s Warhol images at an exhibition over Alumni & Family Weekend October 3-5, 2008.
