The Friends at 50: Selections from the Collection

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIENDS!

The Friends group was established on July 20, 1972, even before the Museum opened its doors to the public in 1974. Roy R. Neuberger, our founding patron, modeled the group after a similar organization that he helped found at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where he was the first member of the Board of Directors who was not a member of the Whitney family.

The first meeting of the Board of the Friends occurred on November 19, 1972 at the home of Margot and Robert Linton, longtime supporters of the Museum. In attendance at that first meeting, in addition to Roy and Margot, and the Neuberger’s first director, Bryan Robertson, were Michael Baird, Ann Collins, Dr. Gibson Danes, Sweetie Engel, Sue Glickman, Erika Hall, Dr. Abbott Kaplan, Charles Levitt, Linda Lese, Jane Lombard, Elaine Malsin Polly Siwek, John Straus, Lois Steckler, Barbara Weeden, and Leonard and Helen Yaseen. It was there, at that meeting, that the Friends began laying out a roadmap of support for the Museum.

Today, the Friends continues to be an active, vibrant, and welcoming group of art lovers working together in support of a vibrant and evolving museum. Following its original mission, it supports the Museum’s ongoing programs of educational outreach to underserved communities in the area, and strives toward creating a more inclusive environment in all that it and the Museum do.

The Friends at 50: Selections from the Collection is a celebration of one very important aspect of the work of the Friends—it’s support of our growing collection. The exhibition is comprised of major works of art that have come into the collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art through their efforts. From photography, sculpture, painting and work in other media, inclusive of Cleve Gray’s immersive Threnody, the objects are remarkable in their breadth and depth and show aspects of the marvelous generosity of the Friends organization over the last fifty years. In conjunction with the exhibition, a series of virtual Artist Talks will feature the creators of several works included in the show.

My colleagues and I, both past and present, are grateful to and salute the Friends for their extraordinary partnership and “friendship.”

Tracy Fitzpatrick
Director
Neuberger Museum of Art

Generous support for The Friends at 50 is provided by the Roy R. Neuberger Legacy Program Endowment; ArtsWestchester, with support from the Westchester County Government; and the Triennial Adeline Herder Fund for Collage.