The Rose Art Museum received 50 works from collector Stephen Salny, according to a press release sent to The Hoot on Feb. 28. 

The gift has pieces from Ellsworth Kelly, Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Sonia Delaunay, Helen Frankenthaler, Damien Hirst, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, Richard Serra and Frank Stella, according to the email.

“We are delighted and deeply grateful to receive this generous gift,” says Luis A. Croquer, the Henry and Lois Foster Director and Chief Curator. “A major gift, such as this one, helps us to deepen and expand our holdings and also signals to the wider community that the Rose Collection continues to be a significant repository of modern and contemporary art in our area. I know that Steve, a seasoned collector with a sharp and knowing eye, chose the Rose intentionally, both honoring his personal connection to the museum while fully acknowledging the depth and quality of our collection.”

The gift included 11 Ellsworth Kelly lithographs dating from 1970 to 2012, including “Blue-Green” (1970), “Green Curve” (1999) and “Dartmouth” (2011); they join other works by the artist in the collection, including Kelly’s painting “Blue White” from 1962, according to the email. 

Four prints by Robert Motherwell, “Djarum” (1975), “Red Open With White Line” (1979), “Summer Trident” (1990) and “The Black Wall” (1981), will be added to the Rose’s collection, adding to “Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 58” (1957–61) and his other works in the collection that are already there. 

Helen Frankenthaler’s works “Ganymede” (1978) and “Sunshine After Rain” (1987) add to the museum’s holdings by the artist, who had an exhibition at the Rose in 1981 and whose work “Yellow Line” (1982) was recently on view in the exhibition “Into Form: Selections from the Rose Collection, 1957-2018,” according to the press release.

Salny had originally intended to donate the work after his death, but he decided to donate it earlier after initially giving the Rose eight works. 

“Since childhood, I have been passionate about art, architecture and interior design,” says Salny. He decided that he wanted his work to be at Brandeis about 10 years ago, according to the release. “I was walking up the steps,” he says, “and I had this instant thought: ‘This is where my art is going.’” 
The Rose has been at Brandeis since 1961, according to its website. It has over nine thousand objects and is open year round and free to the public.