TV producer makes maxi-donation to New York's Met: 200 works arrive (Botticelli, Van Gogh... )

A dream donation that would delight any museum is the one announced in recent hours by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has announced the promised arrival of as many as 200 works including paintings, drawings and sculptures from the collection of producer Dick Wolf, famous for producing such famous TV series as Miami Vice and Law & Order. An unexpected Christmas gift whose exceptionality consists in what is in the collection: the museum lets it be known that there are works by artists such as Sandro Botticelli, Vincent van Gogh, Bronzino, Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, Guercino, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo.

Acquired over many years by the Neyworkese collector, these works will enrich the holdings of three Met departments (European Paintings, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, and Drawings and Prints), making this one of the most important gifts pledged to the Met in the last half century. Inspired by numerous visits to the Met early in his life, Dick Wolf sought out works that reflected his passion for art, especially that of the 15th to 18th centuries, as well as a selection of more modern works. The result, the Met notes, “is a collection of remarkable breadth and depth” filled with “outstanding works.”

“With its extraordinary range of European paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and works on paper,” said Max Hollein, director of the Met, “the Dick Wolf Collection represents one of the most significant gifts made to the Met in recent times, truly transforming and adding new dimensions to the Museum’s holdings. From works by the best-known and best-loved artists of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, to those lesser-known but of profound historical importance, the collection reflects Dick Wolf’s excellent connoisseurship and unwavering dedication to the diverse artistic media of the periods. In addition, the substantial financial contribution will provide critical support for the Met’s collection exhibitions and scholarly activities. We are deeply grateful for his generosity, which will impact the millions of visitors to the Met for many years to come.”

In addition to the artworks included in this pledged gift, Dick Wolf will support with an additional endowment two galleries in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: the Galleries of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, which will be called the Dick Wolf Galleries. The endowment, the museum says, “represents an important opportunity to rethink these spaces and enrich the display of works on view, especially in combination with highlights from the Dick Wolf Collection, which complement the Met’s renowned collection of 15th- and 16th-century sculpture and objects.”

Wolf said, “Since I was eight years old, I would stop by the Met on my way home from school, two or three times a month, and wander the galleries. It was an easier time, there was no entrance, you could enter from the street. I’m sure most collectors would agree that to see your art displayed in the greatest museum in the world is an honor. This is my Christmas gift to the Museum, to the people of New York, and to the city where I first encountered the power and beauty of great art.”

Don Bacigalupi, art advisor to the Dick Wolf Collection, added, “Dick Wolf is the ideal collector and philanthropist. He has assembled, with intelligence and a great eye, a superb collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, furniture and decorative arts that speak eloquently of the times and places in which they were made. And his exemplary commitment to publicly sharing his collection speaks to his generosity and understanding of the power of art to inspire, educate and enlighten.”

In the coming years, the Met plans to present an installation of selected works from the donation, with a focus on a group of drawings. A work by Orazio Gentileschi, the Madonna and Child from about 1620, is oad now on display in the recently reopened galleries for European Paintings 1300 to 1800.

with

TV producer makes maxi-donation to New York's Met: 200 works arrive (Botticelli, Van Gogh... )

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.