Modern art collection reunited for Philadelphia exhibition
February 26, 1999
Web posted at: 1:45 p.m. EDT (1345 GMT)
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"Pipe and Newspaper" by Juan Gris
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PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- An upcoming exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art will feature the work and collection of local artist Earl Horter, reuniting 100 of the best works from his collection, including paintings from Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.
Horter was a Philadelphia advertising artist and avid collector. He was not a wealthy man, but was a committed modernist who put together an eclectic collection of early modern, African and Native American art between 1920 and 1940.
At a time when American collectors and museums were largely ignoring cubist and precisionist art, Horter collected works of European and American artists such as George Braque, Constantin Brancusi and Charles Sheeler.
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"Nude Descending a
Staircase" by Marcel
Duchamp
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Horter's collection is a reflection of the dynamic time in Philadelphia between the two World Wars. With the construction of its first modern skyscraper and Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra creating the world famous "Philadelphia Sound," it was a city looking ahead.
The exhibit represents the first effort to reassemble the artist's collection since its dispersal after his death in 1940. Nearly all knowledge of the collection was lost after he began selling it off around 1931 because of financial pressures due to the Depression.
The show will include 70 works from the collection as well as 30 of Horter's own creations.
Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1880, Horter was recognized early for his artistic talent despite no formal training. He taught art in his home and at several Philadelphia art schools. His students included everyone from individuals and talented amateurs to such notables as Dox Thrash and Michael Gallagher.
"Mad for Modernism: Earl Horter and His Collection," will be in the Dorrance Special Exhibition Galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, March 7 - May 16.
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