Emily Fisher Landau, photographed by Matthew Roberts, in front of ’s The Shadow (1981). Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection (September 28 – January 5, 2014) In 2010, Emily Fisher Landau gave her collection of contemporary to the Whitney Museum of American Art in . This historic gift —which includes 419 artworks by eighty‐nine artists — is significant not just for its size, but also for the remarkable breadth of media and styles it encompasses. Legacy presents a selection of more than seventy artworks from that gift. Featuring painting, sculpture, photography, and prints, this exhibition reflects Mrs. Landau’ s longstanding commitment to the art and artists of her own time. Mrs. Landau began collecting art in the late 1960s, acquiring the work of modern masters from both the United States and Europe. Early purchases included pieces by Pablo Picasso, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, and Henri Matisse, among others. By 1987, the year she joined the Whitney’s Painting and Sculpture Acquisitions Committee, Mrs. Landau’s focus had turned almost exclusively toward art being made in America. This shift in attention to artists working close to home would become a trademark of Mrs. Landau’s collection. Over the last several decades, she has become personally acquainted with a number of the artists whose work she has purchased, visiting their studios to keep her finger on the pulse of what new art looks like The Landau collection is distinguished not only by its excellence, but also by a spirit of adventure and open‐mindedness: “I’ve never collected something because it was fashionable,” Mrs. Landau once said. “It was always about what I instinctively liked.” Such an approach has often required her to call prevailing tastes into question, resulting in a collection that defies the notion that a single, overriding narrative can be attached to the history of art made after 1945. Tracing many of the concepts that have been formative in American art‐making, particularly over the last fifty years, Legacy brings together seminal works by some of the most influential artists of the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries. Works by Carl Andre and Agnes Martin define and expand the confines of Minimalism; Gregory Crewdson and Lorna Simpson highlight new approaches to photography; Jenny Holzer and Glenn Ligon investigate the intersection of image and language; and Felix Gonzalez‐Torres and Nan Goldin represent a revived interest in the role of personal narrative. Also highlighted in the exhibition are several artists that Mrs. Landau has collected in‐depth, including Jasper Johns, Richard Artschwager, and Ed Ruscha. 1 Carl Andre American, born 1935 GAZETTEER, 1964 ink on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.9

2 Carl Andre American, born 1935 days mind case code dust case time guns dock, 1964 ink on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.10

3 Richard Artschwager American, 1923–2013 Dinner II, 1982 charcoal on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.16

4 Richard Artschwager American, 1923–2013 White Table, 1988 synthetic polymer on fiberboard, Formica, and wood Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.18

After supporting himself as a furniture maker for nearly a decade, in the early 1960s Richard Artschwager began making geometric paintings and sculptures from inexpensive builder’s materials. In the wall piece White Table, what appears to be wood flooring is fashioned of Formica, and the figure seated at the table, seen from a bird’s‐eye view, is made of Celotex, a course, metallic fiberboard typically used in ceiling tiles. Artschwager, who once claimed he had grown tired of looking at “beautiful wood,” used man‐made materials to test conventional notions regarding how art objects should be created. Such an approach to artmaking reflects his interest in the consumer culture obsession with distinguishing between “real” and “fake” goods.

5 Richard Artschwager American, 1923–2013 Mirror, 1988 Melanine laminate on wood; Edition no. 5/25 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Elaine Graham Weitzen 97.120.1

6 Richard Artschwager American, 1923–2013 Untitled, 1994 wood and metal hardware Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.2

7 American, born 1931 What This Painting Aims to Do, 1967 synthetic polymer and oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.24 Reflecting on his role as an art professor, John Baldessari once commented, “I used to collect books on how to teach art.…I was intrigued by the idea that you could teach art, because I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that it couldn’t be taught.” For What This Painting Aims to Do, Baldessari hired a commercial sign painter to produce the canvas based on specific instructions. Featuring excerpts from “how‐to” art manuals, this painting wittily violates the very advice that it prescribes, such as “distort shapes” and “invent forms.” With this work, Baldessari questions the relevance of painting —a “traditional” medium —at a time when most conceptually minded artists were turning to more unconventional formats for artistic expression, such as performance, musical composition, and the artist book.

8 John Baldessari American, born 1931 Two Languages (Begin), 1989 silver gelatin prints and vinyl‐based paint on three panels Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.26a–c

9 Matthew Barney American, born 1967 DRAWING RESTRAINT 9: Occidental Guest (bride), 2005 chromogenic print in self‐lubricating plastic frame; Edition no. 3/6 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.297a–b

10 Matthew Barney American, born 1967 DRAWING RESTRAINT 9: Occidental Guest (groom), 2005 chromogenic print in self‐lubricating plastic frame; Edition no. 3/6 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.298a–b

11 Nayland Blake American, born 1960 Double Feature Standards, 1991 silk flowers, aluminum, two VHS tapes in plastic cases, steel cable, and rubber Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.36a–e

Nayland Blake has worked in a wide variety of media and methods for nearly three decades. Drawing on personal experiences relating to sexual identity, gender norms, race, body image, and mortality, Blake has said, “I’ve never been the sort of artist who finds one language that’s flexible enough to talk about the things I want to talk about.” In Double Feature Standards, a rubber tube connects two thin metal poles. Two video cassette cases are suspended from the tube; in one is the science fiction film Bladerunner, released in 1982, and in the other the 1988 remake of the classic 1950 crime drama, D.O.A. This sculpture was made at a time when many in the art world and beyond were experiencing the devastating effects of the AIDS epidemic, and Blake’s mourning for lost loved ones is apparent. The tubing falls in a graceful curve that calls to mind an IV drip, while the white silk roses have a funerary quality.

12 Peter Cain American, 1959–1997 500 SL #1, 1992 oil on linen Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.62 The Mercedes‐Benz SL sedan was an icon of American wealth and consumer culture in the 1990s. In 500 SL #1, Peter Cain strips this familiar status symbol of its identifying features, including its elongated body and, most importantly, the shiny Mercedes‐Benz logo that should appear on its front bumper. At once compacted and inflated, the car takes on a cartoonish quality. Distorting imagery to disrupt our understanding of common objects is a signature element of Cain’s work. The surface of the car is gleaming, free of dents or scratches, yet it is also menacing, its grill resembling clenched teeth. By altering the appearance of familiar objects, Cain prevents viewers from taking images at face value and encourages us to reconsider the insatiable American desire to consume.

13 Gregory Crewdson American, born 1962 Untitled (beckoning bus driver), 2001–02 digital chromogenic print mounted on aluminum; 2/3 artist proof Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.300

Untitled (beckoning bus driver) belongs to Gregory Crewdson’s Twilight series, a group of forty photographs made between 1998 and 2002 in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. His images are the products of weeks of planning and collaboration with actors, art directors, costume designers, and prop managers. Rather than disguise the staged nature of his elaborate tableaux, Crewdson amplifies their theatricality using cinematic lighting and effects. In this photograph, a young girl gazes at a man calling to her from the steps of a school bus, while her family sits unaware inside the house. While the narrative unfolding here is not entirely clear, Crewdson’s dramatic style results in an image that reads as ominous, casting the girl as a potential victim in this disquieting scene.

14 Willem de Kooning American, 1904–1997 No title, 1987 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.70

Willem de Kooning was a leader of Abstract Expressionism, America’s first cohesive art movement. Early in his career, he became known for his exploration of the qualities of oil paint, developing a style that used energetic, heavy brushstrokes to create lively, pulsating canvases. By the mid‐1980s, de Kooning’s aggressive brushwork and dense pictorial fields gave way to a calm lyricism, as seen in this untitled work from 1987. De Kooning was in his seventies when he made this painting, which features a calculated rhythm and more subdued paint application, suggesting the artist had developed an understanding of the potential for subtle drama that oil paint affords.

15 Carroll Dunham American, born 1949 Untitled, 1984 oil and graphite on wood veneer Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.73

Carroll Dunham American, born 1949 Untitled, 1984 oil and graphite on wood veneer Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.74

16 Eric Fischl American, born 1948 Emptying of the Estuary, 1993 oil on linen Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.84

In the early 1980s, following a period dominated by and the frequent pronouncement that “painting was dead,” Eric Fischl — along with several other prominent figures in the New York art world — helped to revive figurative painting. Nude female bathers have been a popular subject of paintings for centuries, from Renaissance frescoes to the modern canvases of Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso. In Emptying of the Estuary, Fischl imbues a traditional scene of bourgeois leisure with a dose of contemporary suburban anxiety, the three women appearing more awkward than alluring. Despite their close physical proximity, the trio is disconnected, each woman absorbed in her own actions. Fischl casts a harsh light on their bodies, highlighting their physical features which, in the case of the two women at right, are puzzlingly androgynous. The crab dangling by its pincer from the central figure’s hand heightens the painting’s tense mood.

17 Nan Goldin American, born 1953 Brian in hotel room with three beds, Merida, Mexico, 1982, 1982 silver dye bleach print; Edition no. 7/25

18 Self‐Portrait with milagro, The Lodge, Belmont, MA 1988, 1988 silver dye bleach print; Edition no. 6/25 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gifts of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.86 and P.2010.87

19 Nan Goldin American, born 1953 Amanda on my Fortuny, Berlin, 1993 silver dye bleach print; Edition no. 11/25 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.88

From the 1970s until the mid‐1990s, Nan Goldin took thousands of photographs of her circle of friends, documenting the intimacies, hardships, and moments of joy they experienced over two decades. She edited these images into a 45‐minute slideshow set to music titled The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. This monumental project, which the artist has described as a “diary,” reflects Goldin’s desire to blur the lines between her life and her art. In Amanda on my Fortuny, Berlin, the artist’s friend is seen lying in bed as soft light illuminates her curves and the pattern of the fabric below her. The print features rich hues, but its mood is greatly subdued compared to Goldin’s earlier images, many of which read as confrontational due to harsh lighting and stark color contrasts.

20 Felix Gonzalez‐Torres American, 1957–1996 Untitled, 1988 chromogenic print jigsaw puzzle in plastic bag Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.346 Untitled (Me and My Sister), 1988 chromogenic print jigsaw puzzle in plastic bag; Edition no. 1/3 Untitled (Love Letter From The War Front), 1988 chromogenic print jigsaw puzzle in plastic bag; 1/3 artist proof Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gifts of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.346, P.2010.347, and P.2010.348 Felix Gonzalez‐Torres frequently used photography in an unexpected manner. From 1987 to 1992, the artist completed a series of jigsaw puzzles featuring images culled from candid photographs in his personal collection, as well as from mass‐media sources. These images reflect themes Gonzalez‐Torres explored throughout his career, including family, notions of home, and the loss of loved ones. Untitled (Me and My Sister) captures the artist and his sibling as small children, sitting outside on a sunny day. Standing in stark contrast to this happy memory is Untitled (Love Letter from the War Front), which depicts a fragment of intimate and unsettling correspondence between Gonzalez‐Torres and his long‐term partner, Ross Laycock, who died of AIDS in 1991. By preserving the jigsaws in their finished states, the artist underscored their physical fragility while shedding light on the transience of personal and collective memories.

21 Rodney Graham American, born 1949 LEFT: Oak, Banford, 1990 CENTER: Oak, Middle Aston, 1990 RIGHT: Oak, Wroxton Heath I, 1990 From the portfolio Oxfordshire Oaks, Fall 1990, 1990 chromogenic prints Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gifts of Emily Fisher Landau 2011.151 , 2011.152 , and 2011.154

Created in 1990, these pictures are from a series titled Oxfordshire Oaks, which Rodney Graham made while traveling the English countryside. Each photograph is simply composed, featuring an isolated tree standing against a low horizon line. By displaying the photographs upside‐down, however, the artist presents viewers with images that are at once familiar and confusing. The inverted trees become abstractions: gnarled branches transform into complex networks of lines and new, unexpected shapes emerge. Oxfordshire Oaks has a distinctly melancholy tone, as if the grand, iconic oak trees Graham captures have been transported to the present moment from another time, if not another world. With this series, Graham dismantles the mechanics of sight to explain how we process visual information. When images pass through our eyes, they are inverted and must be corrected by the brain. Likewise, Graham’s photographs mimic the upside‐down and reversed images that an artist sees when using a large‐format camera. By disrupting how we read and interpret images, Oxfordshire Oaks provides a subtle reminder that art always offers an artificially constructed view of reality.

22 Jenny Holzer American, born 1954 Under a Rock: You spit on them because..., 1986 granite; Edition no. 3/3 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.99

Jenny Holzer American, born 1954 The Living Series: It can be helpful to think of them..., 1989 granite; Edition no. 1/3 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.100

23 Peter Hujar American, 1934–1987 Left: Diana Vreeland, 1975 Right: Lola Pashalinski, 1975 gelatin silver prints Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gifts of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.309 and P.2010.316

Peter Hujar is best known for his black‐and‐white portraits taken in during the 1970s and 1980s. He photographed fashion writer Diana Vreeland in 1975 in a casual yet elegant setting that reflects her own sense of style, capturing both her charm and strength. That same year, Hujar photographed Lola Pashalinski, a member of playwright Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Taken backstage, Pashalinski is seen sitting with her eyes closed, her head gracefully titled to the side, as she prepares for her performance.

24 Peter Hujar American, 1934–1987 Left: David Lighting Up, 1985 Right: Self Portrait, 1975 gelatin silver prints Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gifts of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.317 and P.2010.321

Some of Peter Hujar’s most captivating images are those he took after dark on the streets of New York. David Lighting Up combines the formalism of his studio portraits with a gritty edge typical of his nighttime photographs. Hujar and David Wojanrowicz — whose work is on view nearby —began a romantic relationship in 1981 that lasted until Hujar died of AIDS in 1987. In this photograph, Wojnarowicz is seen stopping on the street to light a cigarette, a seemingly unremarkable act that Hujar portrays as both intimate and cinematic.

25 Michael Hurson American, 1941–2007 Palm Springs Painting #4, 1971 oil and screenprint on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.101

Michael Hurson’s quirky approach to image‐making melds together some of the most important artistic movements of the twentieth century, including Pop art, Cubism, and Conceptualism. For Palm Springs Painting #4, the artist silkscreened three nearly identical versions of a poolside scene over a gray‐brown background. The serial format and addition of simple lines from one frame to the next is inspired by the format of comic strips, yet Hurson’s images are void of the humorous or dramatic content typically found in comics. Instead, all that changes in this nondescript scene is the location of the floating pool chair. As in so many of Hurson’s artworks, the subject is simply the passage of time.

26 Neil Jenney American, born 1945 Obstinance and Disapproval, 1969 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau 2012.174a–b

27 Neil Jenney American, born 1945 Threat and Sanctuary, 1969 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau 2012.175a–b

In the late 1960s, as many artists and critics began to denounce the role of painting in the artistic canon, Neil Jenney began creating large, narrative canvases he described as “allegorical truths.” Bringing together people, animals, and everyday objects, these paintings feature strange, and often unnerving, scenarios. Threat and Sanctuary depicts a man’s dangerous swim in shark‐infested waters, one of several works from this period in which Jenney comments on the tenuous relationship between humans and nature. Executed in a deliberately simplified manner with rough, hurried brushstrokes, Threat and Sanctuary suggests the heightened painterly surfaces of Abstract Expressionist paintings, yet Jenney focuses on representation rather than subjective experience.

28 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Usuyuki, 1980 screenprint; Edition no. 49/90 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists, New York

Usuyuki, 1983 synthetic polymer and collage on plastic Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gifts of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.150 and P.2010.117

Jasper Johns has used his crosshatch motif in prints, paintings, and drawings since the 1970s. The two works on view that share the title Usuyuki — “light snow” in Japanese —belong to a series that employs this patterning to mimic the randomness of falling snowflakes. Johns has frequently created extended series as a way to explore a single pictorial theme by varying the color palette or changing the media from piece to piece. Here, the work from 1980 is screenprinted, while the crosshatches seen in the later piece are made of collaged newspaper scraps. While the Usuyuki series is intended to celebrate the unpredictability of nature, the artist also strives to maintain a sense of order. By imposing a visible grid system on each work, Johns presents the Usuyuki works as hypotheses rather than conclusions.

29 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Painting with Two Balls, 1971 screenprint; Edition no. 49/59 Printed by Aetna Silkscreen Products, New York, New York.; published by the artist Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.122 Painting with Two Balls, 1971 screenprint; Third progressive proof 2/2 Printed by Aetna Silkscreen Products, New York Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.125 Painting with Two Balls, 1971 screenprint; Third progressive proof 2/2 Printed by Aetna Silkscreen Products, New York Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.126 Painting with Two Balls, 1971 screenprint; Third progressive proof 2/2 Printed by Aetna Silkscreen Products, New York Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.127

30 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Flags I, 1973 screenprint; Edition no. 64/65 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York and Tokyo; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.135

Flags II, 1973 screenprint; Edition no. 25/60 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York and Tokyo; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.137

31 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Target (Black and Gray), 1974 screenprint; Edition no. 21/30 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York and Tokyo; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.140

32 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 The Dutch Wives, 1977 screenprint; Edition no. 38/70 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York and Tokyo; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.142

33 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Cicada A‐F, 1979/81 six screenprints; Edition no. 5/5 Printed by Simca Print Artists, New York and Tokyo; published by the artist and Simca Print Artists Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.148a‐f

34 Jasper Johns American, born 1930 Untitled, 1998 encaustic on canvas with wood, string, and metal hardware Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.118

Jasper Johns has explored the catenary curve —a U‐shape form commonly associated with the arc of a suspension bridge —in more than sixty artworks. In this painting, the curve is produced by a string that hangs freely between two points fixed on the canvas. On the left side of the composition are graphic symbols from a Chinese dragon costume Johns wore as a child, while on the right, multicolored diamonds recall the ensemble of a harlequin or jester, a recurring subject in art for many centuries. By placing one end of the string in each section, Johns draws a connection between his personal life story and the history of art. In many of the “Catenary” works, Johns tests new ways to mediate between a flat picture plane and the three‐dimensional world beyond the canvas. Here, allowing the strip of wood and string to fall away from the painting breaks the barrier between viewer and object.

35 Joseph Kosuth American, born 1945 Titled (Art as Idea as Idea), [self], 1967 photostat on vinyl, mounted on masonite Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.167

Joseph Kosuth is an important figure in Conceptualism, a movement that took shape in the 1960s based on the belief that the idea behind an artwork is as important as the physical manifestation of the work. In pursuing this theory, Kosuth has devoted his career to investigating the relationship between artmaking and language. This work belongs to a series titled Art as Idea as Idea which presents dictionary definitions of words that are often used when discussing art, such as “black,” “white,” “original,” “meaning,” and “material.” Kosuth selected terms that he believes inform how viewers understand and value art. Kosuth created this series using a Photostat machine, an early projection photocopier that employs a camera to photograph images and then expose them onto light‐sensitive paper. Though these pieces are meant to look like paintings, their mechanical production eliminates evidence of labor or artistic skill, emphasizing Kosuth’s assertion that the material object itself is not inherently valuable.

36 American, born 1945 Untitled [Pledge], 1988 photoscreenprint on vinyl Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.170

37 Annette Lemieux American, born 1957 Party Hats, 1985–86 oil paint on three steel helmets Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.174a–c

38 Sherrie Levine American, born 1947 Thin Stripe #2, 1985 casein paint and wax on mahogany Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.176

Thin Stripe #6, 1986 casein paint and wax on mahogany Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.177

Sherrie Levine is best known for re‐photographing iconic images by famous photographers such as Edward Weston and Walker Evans. In 1985, Levine began making modestly sized canvases that present simple visual motifs, such as stripes, checkerboards, and chevrons. While these paintings invoke rather than replicate any specific art historical sources, they continue to address the notions of creativity and originality that Levine’s early photographs explored. The artist has explained, “When I was in school, I was frustrated because everything I did seemed derivative.…I realized that these references could be a value as opposed to a detriment. This tension could be the content of the work. Because, in fact, everyone’s work is a matter of receidived ideas. ”

39 Glenn Ligon American, born 1960 Profile Series, 1990/1991 oil on eight canvases Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.190a‐h

40 Robert Mapplethorpe American, 1946–1989 Chest, 1987 three gelatin silver prints Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.200a‐d

41 Agnes Martin American, 1912–2004 Untitled, ca. 1960 ink on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.203

42 Agnes Martin American, 1912–2004 This Rain, ca. 1960 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.325

Though her spare, geometric style suggests the influence of Minimalism, Agnes Martin considered herself to be more closely aligned with the Abstract Expressionists. In This Rain, a watery, blue‐gray rectangle hovers over a second rectangle the color of sand. Avoiding heavy paint application, Martin instead achieved translucent washes of pigment that seem to manifest her claim that her art was intended to represent humans’ “most subtle feelings.” Seeking to establish a universal visual language that could transcend human emotion, Martin once stated that her aim was never to elicit a specific response from her viewers, but rather to instigate the kind of reaction people have when they “leave themselves behind, often experienced in nature —an experience of simple joy.”

43 John McLaughlin American, 1898–1976 Untitled, ca. 1970–74 collaged paper and tape Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.207

Untitled, ca. 1970–74 collaged paper and tape Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.208

Untitled, ca. 1970–74 collaged paper and tape Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.209

44 Martin Puryear American, born 1941 Ardea, 1981 casein paint on Ponderosa pine and Alaskan cedar Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.222

45 James Rosenquist American, born 1933 House of Fire II, 1982 oil on canvas, three panels Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau 2012.184a‐c

James Rosenquist’s oversized, brightly colored canvases depict objects at larger‐ than‐life scale, resulting in images that veer toward abstraction while remaining firmly rooted in the Pop Art tradition. In House on Fire II, seemingly disparate objects evoke uncanny similarities —the lipsticks in the center panel resemble the splayed fingers at left, which in turn echo the teeth of the gears on the right. This painting articulates Rosenquist’s anxiety over the American obsession with consumerism. In the left‐hand canvas, groceries tumble out of a brown shopping bag while a gloved hand makes a futile attempt to hold things together. Even the lipstick tubes take on a darker meaning, their missile‐like appearance related to Rosenquist’s ongoing protest against the military‐industrial complex.

46 Susan Rothenberg American, born 1945 Tuning Fork, 1980 synthetic polymer and vinyl‐based paint on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.247

In 1974, Susan Rothenberg painted the outline of a horse for the first time, a motif that would be prevalent in her work for years to come. Tuning Fork refers to the two‐pronged acoustic device that musicians use to determine standard pitch. For this piece, Rothenberg created two overlapping forms that simultaneously resemble a tuning fork, a horse, and the outline of a person. Rothenberg acknowledged that she saw the emerging figure slowly morph from a horse into a human form while she was making the painting. This canvas signals an important shift in the artist’s work toward imagery related to the human body.

47 Allen Ruppersberg American, born 1944 The Gift and the Inheritance [The Courage of the Commonplace], 1989 graphite on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.254

The Gift and the Inheritance [Strive and Succeed], 1989 graphite on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.255

The Gift and the Inheritance [The World Within the Word], 1989 graphite on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.256

The three works on view are from a series of precise graphite drawings depicting books in artist Allen Ruppersberg’s personal library. When The Gift and the Inheritance was first exhibited in 1990, individuals who purchased drawings were told they would inherit the actual books pictured when the artist died. By stipulating the conditions of sale for these artworks, Ruppersberg shifted focus away from the intrinsic value of the drawings and toward their status as commodities. Strive and Succeed features Horatio Alger’s 1908 rags‐ to‐riches novel of the same name. Ruppersberg’s decision to draw this book further 48 dli hi blifth t th i ttibt ll t d ti t i tl Ed Ruscha American, born 1937 Give Him Anything and He’ll Sign It, 1965 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.257

Influenced by the playful and peculiar imagery of early‐twentieth‐century Surrealism, in 1965 Ed Ruscha completed a suite of paintings of birds and fish set against monochromatic backgrounds. The animals are rendered with the precision of field guide illustrations, yet they engage in impossible pursuits: fish eat pencils, birds drink from glasses of milk, and, in this painting, a strange hybrid of a woodpecker and a pencil appears to be writing. Pencils are featured in several works from this series, symbolizing the artist/creator. While this image is humorous, Ruscha is also subtly addressing the notion that an artist can sign any object, thereby transforming it into a work of art.

49 Ed Ruscha American, born 1937 OLD SMOBILE, 1994 synthetic polymer on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.259

50 Ed Ruscha American, born 1937 The Act of Letting a Person into Your Home, 1983 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; partial and promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau 2002.280

Ed Ruscha has said, “…a lot of my paintings are anonymous backdrops for the drama of words.” In The Act of Letting a Person Into Your Home, the title floats over a sky rendered in fiery hues, with only the suggestion of a horizon visible at the bottom of the canvas. This scene can be read as sunrise or sunset, and the words emblazoned upon it as the opening or closing credits of an epic film. This lack of clarity is intentional —ambiguity is central to Ruscha’s work, allowing viewers to find their own meanings in the images he creates.

Mrs. Landau has been steadfast in her assertion that she has always purchased artwork that she instinctively likes and would want to display in her house. The Act of Letting a Person Into Your Home stands at the entrance of the exhibition as a symbol of Mrs. Landau’s desire to welcome art lovers across the country into her world by sharing with them her exceptional collection of postwar art.

51 Ed Ruscha American, born 1937 Lion in Oil, 2002 synthetic polymer on canvas with tape Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.330

52 Lorna Simpson American, born 1960 Outline, 1990 two gelatin silver prints in frames, with six plastic plaques; Edition no. 2/4 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.263a–b

53 American, born 1954 Head with Bird I (Side), 1994 phosphorous and white bronze Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.269

54 Mark Tansey American, born 1949 Valley of Doubt, 1990 oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.275

Valley of Doubt is an allegorical painting laden with art historical references. Looming in the background is Mont Sainte‐Victoire, the mountain in Southeastern France that Paul Cézanne, a leading Impressionist and founder of modernism, repeatedly painted. In the foreground, three soldiers clamber up a wall to catch a glimpse of the far‐away mountain. Giant letters embedded into the rocks on which they stand are Tansey’s nod to the challenging critical debates that artists must grapple with in their effort to achieve greatness. Soldiers appear often in Tansey’s work, signifying the artistic avant‐garde or individuals who lead the way for creative innovation. To create Valley of Doubt, Mark Tansey engaged in a unique process that entailed spreading oil paint on a canvas covered with gesso, a white paintlike substance used to prime the surface, and then removing layers of pigment with various implements until figures emerged. This subtractive approach, which he developed in the 1980s, results in canvases characterized by stark contrasts between light and dark areas and images that almost appear sculpted.

55 Al Taylor American, 1949–1999 Untitled, 1988 From the series Hairstyle, 1986–88 wooden broomsticks with enamel paint mounted on melanine laminate Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.276

56 Cy Twombly American, 1928‐2011 Untitled, 1964/84 oil stick, wax crayon, and graphite on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.351

Cy Twombly’s canvases share the gestural brushstroke, large scale, and energetic compositions characteristic of Abstract Expressionist painting, yet they depart from that movement’s focus on the individual artist’s emotional state. Instead, Twombly sought to use art as a vehicle to connect with the external world. He was particularly interested in his work’s relationship to the past: “Generally speaking, my art has evolved out of the interest in symbols abstracted…and a deeply aesthetic sense of eroded or ancient surfaces of time.” Twombly relocated to Rome in 1957 to escape the limelight of the New York art scene. In 1964, he began work on this painting, creating a rich, stratified surface that was inspired by Rome’s ancient stone walls. Twombly did not complete the canvas until 1984, when he added layers that appear cloudlike, suggesting a palimpsest, or document whose original inscription has been erased and overwritten with new images or text.

57 Andy Warhol American, 1928–1987 Untitled, 1962 graphite and opaque watercolor on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.277

58 Andy Warhol American, 1928–1987 Myths, 1981 synthetic polymer and screenprint ink on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of the Fisher Landau Center for Art P.2010.340

59 Andy Warhol American, 1928–1987 Portrait of Emily Fisher Landau, 1982 synthetic polymer and screenprint on canvas Courtesy of Emily Fisher Landau and Candia Fisher E.2012.0903

In the early 1960s, Andy Warhol began a series of commissioned portraits of the rich and the famous. By the 1970s, this work had become a vital —and lucrative — part of his practice. For this portrait of Emily Fisher Landau, Warhol used his customary method of creating a color screenprint based on a Polaroid instant photograph. Bright pops of color highlight Mrs. Landau’s lips, eyes, and earrings, her raven hair offsetting her porcelain skin. As with Warhol’s other portraits, this image transforms the sitter into a media celebrity in the style of Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley —stars whom Warhol had previously depicted.

60 David Wojnarowicz American, 1954–1992 Das Reingold: New York Schism, 1987 synthetic polymer and collaged paper on board Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.284

61 David Wojnarowicz American, 1954–1992 Untitled, 1990 stencil printed with spray paint, and collaged papers on found paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.283

By 1990, the year David Wojnarowicz made this untitled work, AIDS had already claimed the lives of many of his friends as well as his longtime partner, the photographer Peter Hujar, whose work is also on view in this gallery. Wojnarowicz had recently been diagnosed with the disease himself, and observed, “When I was told that I’d contracted this virus, it didn’t take me long to realize that I’d contracted a diseased society as well.” Here, the artist spray painted the outline of two men embracing onto a world map of the kind found in grade‐school classrooms throughout the United States. A medallion shaped like a petri dish looming above the two men offers a microscopic view of blood cells. While the map serves as the literal backdrop for this couple, the implied subtext is homophobia and the global AIDS crisis. This work exemplifies the blunt honesty and anger with which Wojnarowicz addressed sexual discrimination throughout his career.

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