The Modern and Contemporary collection highlights pivotal moments in American art from the 20th century to today. Featuring paintings, drawings, photography, and works on paper by influential artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Janet Fish, Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg, Milton Avery, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Ruscha, Tom Wesselmann, Larry Rivers, Benny Andrews, and Larry Walker, the collection explores themes of identity, abstraction, and experimentation. These pieces reflect dynamic shifts in American art, from postwar abstraction to contemporary explorations of culture and social change.
Elizabeth Lobingier (1889-1973), Sailboats Along the Canal, ca. 1925, oil on canvas. 25 x 30 in. Huntsville Museum Association Purchase, 2008 – Sellars Collection, 2009.27 ©Artist’s Estate
Carl Gombert (b. 1959), Jim (Alphabet Boy), 2007, oil and collage on canvas. 36 x 26 in. Red Clay Survey Purchase Awards, funds provided by the HMA Docents, 2012.10 ©Carl Gombert
Beth Edwards (b. 1960), Hydrangea II, 2013, oil on canvas. 42 x 60 in. Museum Purchase in memory of Olin B. King, 2017.12 ©Beth Edwards
Larry Walker (b. 1935), Miguel’s Door: Urban Sanctuary II, 1998-1999, mixed media on canvas. 60 x 84 in. Museum Purchase in memory of Alex Hunter – Red Clay Survey, 2003.02 ©Larry Walker
Katja Oxman (b. 1942), A Cap of Lead Across the Sky, 1999, color aquatint etching, ed. 22/75. 29 ½ x 39 ½ in. Anonymous gift, 2016.06.02a-b ©Katja Oxman
John Reese (1916-2002), Baptism Rite, Gee’s Bend, AL, 1980, printed 1994, toned gelatin silver print. 10 ¼ x 10 ½ in. Museum Purchase, Pauline Cagle Osborn Memorial Fund, 1994.02.13 ©Artist’s Estate