HIGH MUSEUM OF ART ANNOUNCES DONATION OF 47 NEW ARTWORKS

THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA, RECENTLY ANNOUNCED A GIFT OF 47 WORKS OF ART, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE PRINTS AND POSTERS BY MAJOR ARTISTS WORKING FIN-DE-SIECLE PARIS, FROM PROMINENT ATLANTA COLLECTORS IRENE AND HOWARD STEIN. THE STEIN COLLECTION INCLUDES MANY RARE AND EXTREMELY PRIZED WORKS BY HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, SUCH AS 'LA CLOWNESSE AU MOULIN ROUGE', ONE OF A HANDFUL OF IMPRESSIONS OF THE ICONIC COLOUR LITHOGRAPH, AND 'MISS LOIE FULLER', A GHOSTLY IMAGE OF THE FAMOUS AMERICAN DANCER THAT INCORPORATES POWERED GOLD. THE GIFT ALSO INCLUDES IMPORTANT PRINTS AND DRAWINGS BY PIERRE BONNARD, EDGAR DEGAS, PAUL GAUGUIN, HONORE DAUMIER AND PAUL SIGNAC, AND SCULPTURES BY PIETER XAVERY, MARTIN DESJARDINS, CHARLES CORDIER AND JULES DALOU. IN CELEBRATION OF THE GIFT, THE HIGH WILL MOUNT A SPECIAL EXHIBITION TITLED 'TOULOUSE-LAUTREC AND FRIENDS; THE SREIN COLLECTION', WHICH WILL OPEN IN JANUARY 2011. 'THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT GIFTS OF WORKS OF ART IN THE HISTORY OF THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART', A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MUSEUM SAID IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. 'OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, THE STEINS HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE IN HELPING US BUILD OUR COLLECTION. THIS LATEST GIFT WILL GREATLY STRENGTHEN OUR EUROPEAN SCULPTURE COLLECTION AND DRAMATICALLY ELEVATE OUR HOLDINGS OF WORKS ON PAPER BY IMPRESSIONISTS AND POST-IMPRESSIONISTS.' TOULOUSE-LAUTREC AND FRIENDS: THE STEIN COLLECTION WILL FEATURE APPROXIMATELY 80 WORKS. IN ADDITION TO THE 47 NEW GIFTS, THE EXHIBITION WILL ALSO INCLUDE APPROXIMATELY 30 WORKS THAT WERE EITHER PREVIOUSLY GIVEN TO THE HIGH BY THE STEINS OR PURCHASED WITH FUNDS GIVEN BY THE STEINS. AMONG THESE IS A RARE COMPLETE SET OF TOULOUSE-LAUTREC'S LITHOGRAPHIC MASTERPIECE 'THE ELLES SERIES', WHICH THE STEINS PRESENTED TO THE HIGH IN 2001; THE SET IS REMARKABLE BECAUSE IT IS UNBROKEN AND VIRTUALLY IN PERFECT CONDITION.