The Bruce Museum in Greenwich recently announced a major promised gift of two outstanding works on paper by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse from Greenwich resident and longtime Bruce Museum supporter William L. Richter. Picasso”™s Bouquet des Fleurs (1909-10) and Matisse”™s Autoportrait (1944) will be exhibited for the first time in the William L. Richter Art Wing when the newly expanded Bruce Museum opens in spring 2023.
Both works bracket the high period of European Modernism and underscore the direction for the New Bruce set by Susan E. Lynch, museum executive director, and CEO Robert Wolterstorff to focus on the trajectory of Modernism, from the Impressionists in France and the United States to the global phenomenon of contemporary art in our own time.
“It is my honor to donate these works to the Bruce Museum in honor of Robert Wolterstorff and his vision for the New Bruce,” said Richter. “Picasso and Matisse are foundational figures of Modernism and I specifically chose these works as an affirmation of the continued growth of the collection and my faith in his vision for the future.”
Richter has also made a lead $15 million gift toward the new Art Wing that will bear his name.
Located in Bruce Park overlooking Greenwich Harbor, the Bruce Museum is a community-based, world-class institution that offers a changing array of exhibitions and educational programs to promote the understanding and appreciation of art and science.