Met Acquires Works from Artist Howard Hodgkin’s Indian Art Collection – RisePEI

The Metropolitan Museum of Artwork has acquired 84 works of Indian artwork that previously belonged to artist Howard Hodgkin, who died in 2017. The works are set to go on view on the museum in 2024 as a part of an exhibition that may even embody 38 extra items from Hodgkin’s assortment which might be on mortgage however haven’t been formally acquired.

Hodgkin’s assortment is extensively considered an vital one, with works spanning a number of centuries and varied mediums. Portraits of courtly rulers, photos of nature, and pages from the early interval of the Mughal empire had been among the many works the Met added to its holdings.

However Hodgkin’s assortment has additionally been the topic of some scrutiny, because of its provenance.

In 2021, the Guardian reported that the Ashmolean in Oxford, England, had declined to accumulate the gathering. Alexander Sturgis, the museum’s director, stated on the time that this was as a result of curators there might solely set up a “clear and safe” provenance for round 40 p.c of the works in it. Antony Peattie, Hodgkin’s associate, informed the publication that the artist had prioritized “high quality, not provenance,” when shopping for these works, and that he had bought them from worldwide sellers.

That Guardian report additionally included phrase that the Met’s trustees had been curious about buying the gathering.

A Met spokesperson declined to remark to ARTnews on the alleged provenance points, saying in an announcement, “The Met is thrilled at each of those developments–to have bought a variety of works from the broader assortment, and to have the ability to current your entire assortment to the general public in 2024.”

The Guardian stated that Hodgkin had supposed for his assortment to stay collectively. It now appears, nonetheless, that it has technically been cut up up, for the reason that Met solely acquired round two-thirds of it. Nonetheless, the mortgage of the remaining works — nonetheless owned by Hodgkins property — implies that the entire Indian artwork assortment may be offered throughout the 2024 present.

The Met stated the works it did purchase will reside with its Asian and Islamic artwork departments.

Hodgkin was extensively identified throughout his lifetime as an summary painter. He represented Nice Britain on the Venice Biennale in 1984, and had a Tate Britain retrospective in 2006.

Certainly one of his summary work was additionally added to the gathering of the Met, which already owns some prints by the artist, as a part of the acquisition of Indian artwork.

Max Hollein, director of the Met, stated in an announcement, “Howard Hodgkin‘s assortment represents an artist’s eye for nice magnificence and displays his ardour for an awfully broad vary of Indian portray, which he gathered into a surprising group of works. We’re thrilled to show these works inside the context of Howard’s total assortment, due to the extra mortgage from his belief.”