Shared Vision

The Myron A. and Anne Jaffe Portenar Collection

July 19 – October 14, 2014

  • Stuart Davis, Study for Egg Beater No. 3, 1927, gouache and pencil on paper, Gift of Myron A. and Anne Jaffe Portenar

In March 2013, a remarkable gift of over 500 prints, photographs, works on paper, paintings, and sculptures was donated to the University of Pennsylvania’s Art Collection from Myron A. Portenar, M.D. and Anne Jaffe Portenar (C’49). The Portenar collection was presented to the pubic for the first time and the exhibition included 20th century masters Stuart Davis, Joan Miró, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, James Rosenquist, and Susan Rothenberg among others. The Portenars’ gift reflects 40 years of passionate collecting by these generous donors.

Dr. and Mrs. Portenar selectively built their collection over forty years, filling the walls of their homes in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. A Penn alumna, Anne Portenar’s passion and vision focused on 20th century masters, including Stuart Davis, Jacob Lawrence, Joan Miró, Robert Motherwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Susan Rothenberg. Mexican modernism is represented in prints by Francisco Mora, Jose Clemente Orozco, and Rufino Tamayo,. Photographs in the show were a virtual “Who’s Who”, including Berenice Abbott, Edward Curtis, Walker Evans, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Margaret Bourke-White, and Minor White.. Paintings and sculptures by Jennifer Bartlett, Tobi Kahn, and Louise Nevelson were included.

Shared Vision: The Myron A. and Anne Jaffe Portenar Collection was the fourth in a series of exhibitions highlighting the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection and is sponsored jointly by the Office of the Curator and the Arthur Ross Gallery. The exhibition was co-curated by Lynn Marsden-Atlass, (University Curator and Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery), and Heather Moqtaderi, (University Art Collections Manager).

On June 6, 2013, Penn Art Collection staff interviewed Anne Jaffe Portenar. Click here to read the interview.


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