The collections of the Currier Museum of Art continue to grow over the years thanks in large part to generous gifts from donors and bequests of art. On February 14 the Currier opens two concurrent exhibitions that showcase some of the more recent additions to the collection.

A Passionate Collector: Highlights from the Robert Cross Vergobbi Bequest
In 2007 the Currier received a major bequest of modernist art works from long time New York collector Robert Cross Vergobbi. Mr. Vergobbi began collecting European works on paper during the 1960s and 1970s while working for IBM in Nice, France. When he returned to live in Brooklyn, he focused his collecting on work by American artists, specifically those with ties to New York. At this time Mr. Vergobbi sharpened his eye by frequenting exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art and local New York galleries. Building his collection would dominate the last decades of his life.

The strength of the Vergobbi collection is in twentieth-century works on paper by American and European artists, and in nineteenth-century bronzes. Mr. Vergobbi's interests were broad, and he collected work by many important modernist artists who were not represented in the Currier's collection. Most notable are several beautiful drawings by Isabel Bishop and Paul Cadmus as well as prints by Alberto Giacometti and Georges Braque. In addition, the graphic work by Mr. Vergobbi's favorite artists Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder, and Walt Kuhn adds depth to our understanding of artists already represented in the Currier's holdings.

This exhibition, which constitutes about one third of the bequest, is in celebration of Mr. Vergobbi's life, his love of the arts, and his generosity towards the Currier.

Function and Sculpture: Building a Ceramics Collection
The Currier's ceramics collection has gone through an extraordinary evolution. In the last decade the museum acquired through gift and bequest two major private collections of ceramics. The first came from Manchester native Charlotte K. Anderson and the second from Helen and Herbert Whitlock of Eastham, MA. This exhibition highlights many objects from these collections, on view for the first time. Also on view will be a recent gift of 15 major ceramics pieces by internationally celebrated artist Toshiko Takaezu.

Toshiko was one of the first artists to explore the medium of clay as an art form. Her simplified, sculptural forms are decorated with subtle yet powerful designs that recall the lyricism of Japanese calligraphy and dynamism of American abstract painting. Toshiko's work and working aesthetic has inspired generations of ceramic artists.

About the Currier
The Currier Museum of Art (http://www.currier.org) is home to an internationally respected collection of European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. New galleries showcase the collection of over 11,000 objects, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, O'Keeffe, and Warhol. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the engaging traveling exhibitions, a series of dynamic programs ranging from music to lectures to hands-on art-making, an expanded gift shop and an airy café filled with light and equipped with WiFi. The associated Art Center offers studio classes, art camps and intensive workshops for all ages.

The Currier is located at 150 Ash Street, Manchester, New Hampshire and is wheelchair accessible. Museum hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 11-5; Saturday, 10-5. Closed Tuesdays. Open 11-8 the first Thursday of each month. To get more information, visit http://www.currier.org or call 603.669.6144, x108.