By Gray Chapman
A donation of approximately 150 Polaroid photographs and gelatin silver prints by pop artist Andy Warhol was given to SCAD by the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts. The photographs span the later years of the artist’s career as a photographer in the 1970’s and 1980’s. They feature images of those in his inner social circle, including Bianca Jagger, Pelé and artist Keith Haring. Also included in the collection are still lifes and street scenes. According to the press release, Warhol used the Polaroid studies to capture an expression or a portrait for a painting.
The photographs will be exhibited in the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, which currently houses over 4,500 works of artists, including painting and photography. The collection houses names such as Rembrandt, Goya, Hogarth, Van Dyck, Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon and more, but did not feature work by Warhol until this donation. The Museum’s extensive photography collection was a gift to the college by Shirrel Rhoades, former executive vice president of Reader’s Digest. The collection consists of over 1,000 works by 19th and 20th century photographers. “The gift from the Warhol Foundation adds an exciting dimension to the museum’s photography collection, enriching the breadth and depth of its holdings,” said Maureen Burke, dean of academic initiatives and executive director of the SCAD Museum of Art.
As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, the Warhol Foundation is benefiting many institutions through their Photographic Legacy Program. According to the press release, a total of 28,543 original Warhol photographs valued in excess of $28 million are being donated to individual institutions. Over the course of the Warhol Foundation’s history, they have given more than $200 million in cash grants and art donations. The purpose of the Photographic Legacy Program, according to the president of the Foundation, Joel Wachs, is to enable more viewers to see the depth of Warhol’s work. The Program aims to expose viewers and institutions who wouldn’t normally have access to his work. “As we look to the future,” said Wachs, “the Warhol Foundation will continue to be guided by the vision of its founder and benefactor, whose dying wish was to establish a foundation to advance the visual arts. We will devote our energy and resources to expanding support for artists and arts institutions throughout the country, and we hope that the foundation’s accomplishments will inspire others to follow Andy’s visionary lead.”
The Warhol photographs and prints will be displayed in the SCAD Museum of Art in a special exhibition beginning May 2009.