THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF SCOTT M. BLACK AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

Written by Nancy Whistler Monday, 06 September 2010 22:57

BOSTON, MA - The Romance of Modernism: Paintings and Sculpture from the Scott M. Black Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) is the first comprehensive survey of the extraordinary collection of one of America’s top collectors, Bostonian Scott M. Black.  The exhibition presents more than forty paintings and about fifteen sculptures spanning nearly a century, from the 1860s to the 1960s.  The works of art in the Black Collection show the rise of modern art through paintings of Impressionists such as Cézanne, Degas, Monet and Renoir; its transformation into works by post-Impressionists such as Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Signac; and the explosion of creativity in the early years of the 20^th century, with modernist works by Braque, Léger, Matisse and Picasso.  The Romance of Modernism will be on view in the Irving and Charlotte Rabb Gallery through May 6, 2007.

“Scott Black and his wife, Isabelle are long-time friends of the MFA and the cultural community of New England.  We are grateful to them for sharing their extraordinary collection with the Museum and its many visitors,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA.  “I hope that visitors, seeing their collection, will come away from it with a deeper appreciation of what it means to be a collector with a passion for great art.”

The Black Collection is the result of more than two decades of study and pursuit.  Black began collecting art in the mid-1980s, looking for works that appealed to him visually, such as Impressionist paintings by Monet and Renoir.  Over time he developed a keen eye and on his own amassed a tremendous knowledge of European art through study, travel, and long hours spent in museums in the United States and abroad.  As his tastes developed, so did his interests.  Having assembled a significant collection of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, he turned to modern works, including Cubist and Surrealist paintings by artists such as Paul Delvaux and Fernand Léger.

“I feel strongly about only collecting works worthy of being hung on the walls of a museum,” said Scott Black.  “I am thrilled to have the opportunity through this exhibition to share my collection, with the Museum’s many visitors from New England and beyond, so that they may engage with these works of art that I feel privileged to own.”

Impressionism
A highlight of the exhibition is Edgar Degas’ painting Pagans and Degas's Father (about 1895). Painted late in Degas’ career, it is the work that Black considers the finest in his collection.  The painting depicts singer Lorenzo Pagans and Degas’ father; detail in the foreground melds into a rough orange background, in which Degas applied paint with his fingers or thumb. The painting was created more than 20 years after Degas’ father died, and more than 10 years after the death of Pagans.  Degas’ signature motif of the ballet dancer is also represented in the Black Collection with Seated Dancer (1894). Also on view are three significant works by Impressionist master Claude Monet including the striking Monte Carlo seen from Roquebrune (1884), in which small white brush strokes depict buildings that line a harbor, awash in blue and green hues.

Post-Impressionism
Among the post-Impressionist paintings in The Romance of Modernism are two stunning examples of the Neo-Impressionism movement––Paul Signac’s Antibes, the Pink Cloud (1916) and Theodore van Rysselberghe’s The Regatta (1892). Each uses thousands of tiny paint dots to represent boats on the ocean.  Rysselberghe masterly creates a boat race across a vibrant blue sea sprinkled with bright orange rocks in The Regatta, while Signac’s Antibes, the Pink Cloud, one of the masterpieces of his late career, shows a single boat in a patch of calm water beneath a gigantic pink cloud.  Also painted during this time period is Toulouse-Lautrec’s intimate Two Women making their Bed (1891), a look into the Parisian brothel life that he spent much of his career painting.  The two figures appear flat––possibly inspired by the Japanese style that Toulouse-Lautrec admired––in comparison to the curving iron bed on which they intently focus, in an otherwise sparsely furnished room.

Modernism
In addition to Impressionist and post-Impressionist works, Black has collected modern paintings by artists such as Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.  Picasso’s mastery in multiple mediums can be seen in the detail and playfulness of the bronze sculpture Head of a Jester (1905), in contrast to his almost-abstract painting Head of a Woman, Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter (1934).  Other modern works include The Bunch of Grapes (1928) by Fernand Léger, a colorful still life, in which curving shapes are arranged in a collage pattern against geometric planes as a background to the stylized grapes and a half black, half white face.  The juxtaposition of organic and man-made objects with flatness and volume creates a dream-like effect.

“Scott is one of the most passionate collectors I’ve ever met.  His love of art, coupled with his dedication to building his collection, is inspiring,” said George Shackelford, Chair, Art of Europe and Arthur K. Solomon Curator of Modern Art.  “We are thankful for his friendship and generosity over the years, and his willingness to share his collection with Museum visitors.”

The Collector
Born in 1947, Black is a native of Portland, Maine, where he has been an avid philanthropist for decades.  He received a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA in Finance from Harvard Business School.  Black is founder and President of Delphi Management, Inc., an investment advisory company based in Boston.  Scott and Isabelle Black have been supporters of the MFA for many years.  Scott is an honorary MFA Overseer and has served as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Museum’s Art of Europe Department.  In memory of Robert J. Boardingham, who was Assistant Curator of European Paintings at the time of his death in 1997, Scott has funded an annual lecture on topics in modern European art, presented by distinguished museum and universities scholars from the United States and abroad.

PUBLICATION
Accompanying the exhibition is the publication The Romance of Modernism: Paintings and Sculpture from the Scott M. Black Collection, the first publication to fully illustrate and document the Black Collection.  The publication also includes an interview with the collector and discussion of each work by George Shackelford.  This 136 page book, with 95 beautiful color illustrations, has been produced by MFA Publications. It is at the MFA Bookstore and Shop and online at www.mfa.org for $50.00.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is recognized for the quality and scope of its encyclopedic collection, which includes an estimated 450,000 objects.  The Museum’s collection is made up of: Art of the Americas; Art of Europe; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa; Art of the Ancient World; Prints, Drawings and Photographs; Textile and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments.

Open seven days a week, the MFA’s hours are: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.; Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.; Wednesday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 9:45 p.m. (Thursday and Friday after 5 p.m. only the West Wing is open).

For general visitor information, visit the MFA Web site at www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300.