Maxi donation of 220 Hans Arp plaster casts to ten international museums

The Berlin-based Stiftung Arp e.V. will donate 220 plaster casts by the Franco-German sculptor Hans Arp to ten museums around the world. This is an unprecedented donation of the celebrated artist’s output. More than half of the institutions to which the sculptures will be donated will thus have their first work by Arp in their collections, thus marking a significant step forward in the international recognition of the legacy of one of the most emblematic artists of Dadaism and abstractionism.

Each museum will receive twenty-two works. Most of these museums are in Europe: the Skissernas Museum in Lund, Sweden; the Albertina in Vienna; and the Gerhard Marcks House and the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, both in Germany. In the United States, two museums, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and the Harvard Art Museums in Massachusetts. Also, in Melbourne, at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo, the Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague.

The donation expands on the work of Arp’s widow, Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach, thus affirming that the plaster casts are integral to understanding Arp’s output, while at the same time respecting the artist’s desire not to put his works on the market.

“We are honored to share this important donation with a carefully selected group of museums that will continue to honor the artist’s legacy for international audiences. Arp’s cultural identity was formed during a long period of strong nationalism; in reaction, the artist refused to limit himself to a single language, nationality, artistic movement or material. Alternating between abstraction and representation, organic and geometric forms, his work continues to affirm the importance of art as a means of breaking down boundaries. By expanding the research and dialogue around Arp, the donations ensure that scholars and the public can further research this important part of art history while recontextualizing how his output continues to resonate and have relevance to audiences around the world.”

Image: Hans Arp at Clamart (1957). Photo by André Villiers. Stiftung Arp e.V. Berlin Archives.

Maxi donation of 220 Hans Arp plaster casts to ten international museums

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