Roy R. Neuberger, At 101, Discusses His Affinity For America’s Greatest Living Artists

Roy R. Neuberger And His Museum

Neuberger Museum At 30

Neuberger Museum Of Art Celebrates 30th Anniversary

New Exhibitions At The Neuberger Museum Of Art:

‘Rauschenberg,’ ‘Recent Acquisitions’ And ‘Exposed’

Edward Hopper painted “Barber Shop” in 1931. Roy R. Neuberger acquired it in 1954 after searching for “a great example of his work.”

 

In 1939, Roy Neuberger passed up Maurice Prendergast’s grand 1912 painting “The Bathers” because the artist was no longer living. In 1959, he had another opportunity to acquire it and did so.

 

Neuberger chose “La Parisienne,” the 1907 oil on canvas by Max Weber, for its Matisse-like qualities.

 

“Barber Shop,” the 1930 oil on canvas by Stuart Davis, is a particular favorite of Roy Neuberger.

 

Milton Avery painted “Cello Player in Blue” in 1944. It exhibits his distinctive simplicity of form and line, with blocks of color defining the space.

 

One of the more popular paintings at the Neuberger Museum of Art is Romare Bearden’s 1967 “Melon Season.” Neuberger acquired it the same year.

 

Jacques Lipschitz created the characteristically angular bronze “Seated Harlequin with Clarinet” in 1919.

 

Roy Neuberger acquired Georgia O’Keeffe’s serene 1930 “Lake George by Early Moonrise” for its sheer appeal.

 

Nathan Oliveria’s “Standing Woman with a Hat” evinces the characteristic shrouded figure. Oliveria painted the oil on canvas in 1958.

 

Milton Avery’s “Clover Leaf Park,” 1942, sets a mood of serenity. Avery has been called a joyous painter, a quality he shares with his patron, who donated the picture to the Neuberger Museum of Art.

 

Marsden Hartley’s geometric abstract with the pithy title “Granite by the Sea, Seguin Light, Georgetown” evokes the flat planes of granite riprap along the Maine coast.

 

Karl Knaths’ 1935 oil on canvas “Moby Dick” is an arresting composition of color and form.

 

Willem de Kooning painted “Marilyn Monroe” in 1954. It is among the pictures most frequently requested for exhibit by other museums.

 

Hans Hoffmann’s “Fruit Bowl, Version 6,” 1950, is a carefully constructed oil on canvas. Neuberger bought it from Edith Halpert’s Downtown Gallery, where he acquired many other Twentieth Century pieces.

 

The softly inscrutable “Old Gold over White” by Mark Rothko was acquired at the Janis Gallery in 1957.

 

Isamu Noguchi created the sinuous white marble “Cross Form” in 1968.

 

Ben Shahn’s “Blind Accordion Player” was influenced by Life magazine photographer Ed Clark’s memorable photograph of Navy Bandsman Gordon Jackson playing Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s favorite tune, “Goin’ Home,” as the president’s funeral train left Warm Springs, Ga.

 

Strong color and composition render Richard Diebenkorn’s 1956 “Girl on Terrace” a perennial favorite at the Neuberger Museum of Art.

 

April Gornick’s 1980 oil on canvas landscape “Changing Sky” remains on view through February 13.

 

Roy Neuberger bought Alexander Calder’s 6-foot mobile “Red Ear” in 1960. It hangs above a staircase at the Neuberger Museum of Art.

 

Rauschenberg’s image for Canto XVIII portrays the panderers and flatterers who populate the evil ditches in the eighth circle of Hell.

 

In the image “Canto XXXI: The Central Pull of Malebolge, The Giants: Illustration for Dante’s Inferno,” Dante and his guide Virgil approach the eighth circle of Hell. Dante is the figure in the upper left corner in a towel. The guardians of Hell are portrayed as Olympic athletes. The poets appear below as they are lowered into the pit.

 

Plaque, warrior chief, warriors and attendants, Edo peoples, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, Sixteenth or Seventeenth Century, brass, height 16¾ inches. Private collection.

 

Commemorative head of a king (Oba), Edo peoples, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, Brass, Sixteenth Century, height 9.4 inches. Collection the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo.

Roy R. Neuberger, at age 101, took time from his schedule to chat with us recently about his extraordinary art collection, his bullish life on Wall Street and the museum that was subsequently built for his collection.

 

Roy Neuberger in his Manhattan apartment with two favored Milton Avery paintings.