Contemporary Drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection

Primarily interested in the art of the 1960s, Irving Stenn Jr. has amassed an impressive collection of contemporary prints, paintings, and sculpture. Since 1999 Stenn has been almost exclusively dedicated to collecting drawings, acquiring a core group of works on paper by Mel Bochner, Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, and Fred Sandback, as well as other noteworthy pieces by Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, and Bridget Riley. While many of the drawings are rooted in Minimalism and Conceptualism, Stenn has also procured sheets by artists such as Ed Ruscha and Wayne Thiebaud, whose work represents a broader understanding of what was happening in the art world during the 1960s.
This handsome publication showcases over 125 drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection and celebrates over one hundred major gifts to the Art Institute of Chicago. An essay by Mark Pascale discusses the collection’s focus on art of the 1960s, especially in relation to the theme of the grid. An interview with the collector reveals the insipiration behind and evolution of his holdings, and a full-color plate section and complete checklist of the collection round out this compelling book.