Walker Art Center presents 75 Gifts for 75 Years

MINNEAPOLIS, January 13 2015On the occasion of its 75th anniversary as a public art center, the Walker Art Center will present 75 Gifts for 75 Years, an exhibition on view February 5, 2015 through August 2, 2015 that showcases some of the newest works of art gifted to the Walkers collection and underscores the tremendous impact that gifts of art have made on the institutions collection throughout its history. The Walker, like many institutions, is indebted to the donors who have helped strengthen its holdings through significant gifts of art. While the Walker has made prescient purchases of works of art over the years through an endowment that supports acquisitions, often buying the work of artists early in their careers, this activity alone could not have built the museum into the preeminent repository of contemporary art that it is today.

The 75 Gifts of the exhibitions title refers to a selection of works that will celebrate the culmination of the Walkers three-year initiative to solicit 75 donors to give generously from their personal or corporate collections on the occasion of this anniversary year. As a result of the initiative, more than 250 works of art from nearly 100 donors have been added through outright gift or promise, and 50 artists not previously in the Walkers collection are now represented.