Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation is a non-profit arts foundation located in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles
, in Southern California
. modern
and contemporary art
works in the Frederick R. Weisman collection are displayed in a 'living with art—house museum' context, with guided public tours by appointment with the foundation.
and the fur industry. Like his father, Frederick Weisman would become a businessman.
In 1982, he established the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He said, “Art is a way of life. I live with art, work with art, and fly with art, but most of all I enjoy sharing it.” It is true that he was a passionate collector. But greater than the pleasure of collecting the works of art he loved was his joy in sharing them. He said, “When you are as fortunate as I have been, you have a responsibility to share with others.” When he opened the art collection
at his Los Angeles estate to the public, he wanted to share the experience of living with art – rather than the usual, more formal protocol of seeing art in a gallery or museum. He thought that by encountering works of art in a domestic environment and seeing how they could be enjoyed on a day-to-day basis, people might leave with a fresh view of Modern and contemporary art.
The addition of a postmodern style
contemporary annex, or art pavilion, designed by architect Franklin D.Israel, was added in 1991 to accommodate larger-scale works.
Today the Foundation main house, annex pavilion, and surrounding gardens are accessible to the public by appointment only on guided tours.
paintings by de Kooning
, Francis, Still, and Rothko; Color-Field paintings by Frankenthaler, Louis, and Noland; and Pop Art
by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, and Rosenquist. Contemporary California works include those by Ruscha and Goode, M.A. Alford
, and Super Realist sculptures by Hanson and de Andrea.
The Foundation continues to make the collection available through loans to museums worldwide, docent tours at the Los Angeles estate, exhibitions in public-art venues, and the funding of several art museums, including the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University
in Malibu, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art
, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
at the University of Minnesota, designed by Frank Gehry
.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. modern
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
works in the Frederick R. Weisman collection are displayed in a 'living with art—house museum' context, with guided public tours by appointment with the foundation.
History
Frederick Rand Weisman was the third of five sons born in Minneapolis to Russian immigrants who settled in Minnesota in the 1890s. His father, William, established enterprises in a number of areas, including real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
and the fur industry. Like his father, Frederick Weisman would become a businessman.
In 1982, he established the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He said, “Art is a way of life. I live with art, work with art, and fly with art, but most of all I enjoy sharing it.” It is true that he was a passionate collector. But greater than the pleasure of collecting the works of art he loved was his joy in sharing them. He said, “When you are as fortunate as I have been, you have a responsibility to share with others.” When he opened the art collection
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
at his Los Angeles estate to the public, he wanted to share the experience of living with art – rather than the usual, more formal protocol of seeing art in a gallery or museum. He thought that by encountering works of art in a domestic environment and seeing how they could be enjoyed on a day-to-day basis, people might leave with a fresh view of Modern and contemporary art.
Weisman architecture
The Weisman Foundation estate, located in the Holmby Hills area of western Los Angeles, consists of two landmark buildings in spacious gardens. The main structure is the Mediterranean Revival style two-story residence designed in the late 1920s by Los Angeles architect Gordon B. Kaufman. The Weisman home exhibits the fine craftsmanship characteristic of the period, including custom decorative treatments on the walls and ceilings.The addition of a postmodern style
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
contemporary annex, or art pavilion, designed by architect Franklin D.Israel, was added in 1991 to accommodate larger-scale works.
Today the Foundation main house, annex pavilion, and surrounding gardens are accessible to the public by appointment only on guided tours.
Collection
More than four hundred works of art are on display at the Foundation. The collection includes works by European Modernists including Cézanne, Picasso, and Kandinsky and Surrealist works by Ernst, Miro, and Magritte. The holdings in postwar art include works by Giacometti, Noguchi, Calder, Rauschenberg, and Johns; Abstract ExpressionistAbstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
paintings by de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Francis, Still, and Rothko; Color-Field paintings by Frankenthaler, Louis, and Noland; and Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, and Rosenquist. Contemporary California works include those by Ruscha and Goode, M.A. Alford
M.A. Alford
"Mark Allen Alford Jr". , is an American multimedia artist known for his controversial installations and symbolic imagery. His most noted work is a progressive installation commenting on teen pregnancy entitled, "Sex-ed" which featured 50 helium-filled condoms and a baby-doll and was featured on...
, and Super Realist sculptures by Hanson and de Andrea.
The Foundation continues to make the collection available through loans to museums worldwide, docent tours at the Los Angeles estate, exhibitions in public-art venues, and the funding of several art museums, including the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
in Malibu, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art
San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...
, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum
Weisman Art Museum
The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum located on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. A teaching museum for the university since 1934, the museum is named for Frederick R. Weisman, and was designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry...
at the University of Minnesota, designed by Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
.