Focus on Artists

Selections from the Collection

Focus on Artists

Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1951-1952; oil on canvas; Collection SFMOMA, Gift of the artist; © The Clyfford Still Estate

Focus on Artists

Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park #54, 1972; oil on canvas; Collection SFMOMA, gift of Friends of Gerald Nordland; © Estate of Richard Diebenkorn

Focus on Artists

Andy Warhol, A Set of Six Self-Portraits, 1967; oil and silkscreen ink on canvas; Collection SFMOMA, gift of Michael D. Abrams; © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Focus on Artists

Gerhard Richter, Lesende (Reading), 1994; oil on linen; Collection SFMOMA, purchase through the gifts of Mimi and Peter Haas and Helen and Charles Schwab, and the Accessions Committee Fund: Barbara and Gerson Bakar, Collectors Forum, Evelyn D. Haas, Elaine McKeon, Byron R. Meyer, Modern Art Council, Christine and Michael Murray, Nancy and Steven Oliver, Leanne B. Roberts, Madeleine H. Russell, Danielle and Brooks Walker, Jr., Phyllis Wattis, and Pat and Bill Wilson; © Gerhard Richter

October 22, 2009 - May 23, 2010

In the 1970s and 1980s, at a time when Philip Guston's art was extremely controversial, SFMOMA acquired several of his works and organized a full-scale Guston retrospective. The show prompted widespread critical reappraisal of the artist, and as a result Guston gave SFMOMA four large paintings, helping to establish the museum as one of the foremost collectors of his work. From its early days, SFMOMA has been devoted to fostering close relationships with artists, and these ties often have led to significant holdings of their works. This exhibition looks at SFMOMA's long-term relationships with several modern masters whose iconic works were influential in defining movements from Abstract Expressionism to Postminimalism and beyond. To illustrate the depth of these relationships, individual galleries will feature works by Richard Diebenkorn, Guston, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, and Clyfford Still. On January 16, the exhibition will double in size to showcase a diverse group of contemporary artists in honor of SFMOMA's 75th anniversary.