This was announced last week, when my attention was elsewhere, but I want to note it anyway. The Whitney Museum of American Art* has forged a three-year agreement to lend works from its permanent collection to the Grand Rapids Art Museum. As a result, people in western Michigan will be able to see three exhibitions organized by the Whitney:
Robert Rauschenberg: Synapsis Shuffle: Currently on loan from the Whitney to complement the current Robert Rauschenberg exhibition, officially opens March 3 and remains on view through May 20, 2012.
Real/Surreal: A look at the connection between these two movements of the 20th century in the U.S., the exhibition includes eighty paintings, drawings, photographs, and prints made in the years before, during, and immediately after the Second World War by such artists as Paul Cadmus, Federico Castellón, Ralston Crawford, Mabel Dwight, Jared French, Louis Guglielmi, Edward Hopper, Man Ray, Kay Sage, George Tooker, Grant Wood, and Andrew Wyeth. On view from October 19, 2012 through January 13, 2013.
Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: This collection, which has been given to the Whitney, consists mostly of post-late 1960s works, “with depth in Pop Art, Minimalism, conceptualism, and political and social dialogue” by artists such as Richard Artschwager, John Baldessari, Nan Goldin, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Jenny Holzer, Jasper Johns, Glenn Ligon, Agnes Martin, Ed Ruscha, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol and David Wojnarowicz. On view January 31 – April 27, 2014.
The deal is the outgrowth of a shared trustee, Pamella DeVos, who helped arrange the loan of Rauschenbergs. The conversation developed, the idea grew and this was the result. The latter two exhibits were on view at the Whitney during the past two years, so it makes sense to use that curatorial work in another place — and earn exhibition fees. It makes sense, too, for Michiganders to be exposed to art they’d normally have to travel to see.
Some people oppose these arrangements, charging that museums are monetizing their collections, but — done well, without endangering the art — I’ve always favored them. Here’s a link to an article I wrote for The New York Times in 2010 on the subject.
In this era of penny-pinching, as I review advance schedules, I see many exhibitions on view in one venue only.  I wish more were traveling — singly or in a partnership.Â
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Robert Rauschenberg blog
*I consult to a foundation that supports the Whitney