Yale gallery receives 6 gifted artworks

The Yale University Art Gallery received six gifted works by abstract expressionists Franz Kline and Mark Rothko.

The gallery’s new additions were acquired through the Friday Foundation which donated the pieces from the private collection of two late Seattle philanthropists Jane Lang Davis and Richard E. Lang, whose family has ties to the university.

“I am deeply grateful to the Friday Foundation for this incredible gift. The Lang collection was assembled with passion, intelligence and remarkable vision, and it shows,” Stephanie Wiles, the Henry J. Heinz II director of the gallery said. “The gift aligns with our mission to present the creative work of artists in multifaceted ways, whether by collecting art from different stages of their careers or representing the varied media they used. We are thrilled to receive these stellar works for the gallery’s permanent collection and to share the Langs’ legacy with future generations of students, scholars and visitors.”

In the press release, gallery representatives said that the gifted art will allow the gallery to present a broadened and more nuanced view of Kline and Rothko’s style and technique.

The gallery plans to present the Friday Foundation’s gifted pieces in a small installation later this year. “The installation will illuminate the story of this exceptional private collection and provide details about the contexts of the artworks’ creation. It will be followed by a larger exhibition in February 2022, which will present the works in conjunction with paintings, drawings, and sculpture from the gallery’s celebrated collection of mid-20th-century art,” the press release stated.

“This gift expands the gallery’s collection of midcentury art and strengthens its position as an innovative place for teaching with art. I am excited to have the opportunity to study these artworks firsthand and with students. With these newly donated artworks, audiences can explore and understand Kline’s and Rothko’s oeuvres more thoughtfully and comprehensively, an opportunity rarely afforded elsewhere,” Pamela Lee, Carnegie Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at Yale University said.

For more information about the gallery, visit artgallery.yale.edu.

The Franz Kline Estate/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Contributed photos Franz Kline’s “Untitled” from1961 was gifted to the Yale University Art Gallery by the Friday Foundation in honor of Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis.