The Gift of Art: Recent Donations from Terry Scarborough (‘74)

Following the devastation of World War II, artists began to experiment with color and style to produce artwork that reflected the multifaceted landscape of a modern United States. The artworks in this exhibit exemplify several of the artistic movements in the aftermath of World War II that encapsulate our conceptions of modern art: Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Op Art. Anni Albers and her husband Josef Albers were instrumental to these emerging artistic movements. Fleeing Germany and persecution by the Nazis, the Albers introduced experimental notions of color theory to the United States, which would stimulate the ascent of Abstract Expressionism, as evidenced by the works of Elaine de Kooning and Franz Kline in this exhibit. Roy Lichtenstein and Victor Vasarely would take the inspiration of the modern era in a new trajectory, embracing Pop Art and Op Art, respectively.

Adherents of Abstract Expressionism, de Kooning and Kline embraced its gestural brushstrokes and spontaneous authenticity. The dynamic lines in de Kooning’s Bull II animates the presence of the bull and rouses emotions in the viewer. Sketched before his style developed into abstraction, Kline’s Dance Hall provides a glimpse into his early career as a representational draftsman.

Although dabbling in Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism throughout his career, Lichtenstein is best known for Pop Art, an artistic movement that incorporates elements of popular culture, such as advertisements and comics. As in This Must Be the Place, Lichtenstein’s artwork often included text bubbles and scenes from popular comic books that would replicate a familiar image for viewers.

Vasarely, with his geometric configurations that yielded optical illusions, represents the Op Art movement. In Cardan, the illusion of movement derives from the assorted placement and size of squares.

While Albers began her career as a weaver, she shifted her focus to printmaking during the 1960s. Like her designs for weavings, her prints are balanced arrangements of geometrical patterns in irregular positions as evident in Double Weave.

Donated by alum Terry Scarborough (‘74), these artworks have become a permanent addition to the Wake Forest University Art Collection. Her devotion for art began here, at Wake Forest, after viewing a Leonard Baskin print from the Reece Collection in Reynolda Hall. Years later at an art gallery in Connecticut, Scarborough encountered another Leonard Baskin print that would become the catalyst for amassing a thoughtfully curated print collection over the course of decades. Since then, Scarborough, with a particular love for Modern Art, has been acquiring artwork from well-known artists, such as her favorite, Sonia Delaunay. It is here at Wake Forest, where her passion for art began, that the entirety of her art collection will eventually remain in perpetuity. With this recent generous gift of five artworks, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to interact with them, as Scarborough did 49 years ago in the halls of the University.

Curated by Elizabeth Crispino ('23) Economics Major and Italian Minor