Hirshhorn Museum Mounts Landmark 50th Anniversary Exhibition
Washington, D.C.'s Hirshhorn Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a major exhibition titled “Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960.” The show features 270 works by 126 artists, tracing the cultural and political shifts that shaped modern art. The survey is considered a landmark event for the institution.
- The exhibition is co-curated by the Hirshhorn's Marina Isgro and Betsy Johnson and features a design by the Parisian firm Studio Adrien Gardère. - To offer a different perspective on the collection, the exhibition is accompanied by an audio guide from Katy Hessel's "Museums Without Men" series, which highlights the contributions of female artists. - The show intentionally creates dialogues across time by placing modern and contemporary works together; one example is the pairing of John Singer Sargent’s 1884 portrait, “Mrs. Kate A. Moore,” with Amoako Boafo’s 2020 painting, “Cobalt Blue Dress.” - The museum’s collection was established by an initial donation of nearly 6,000 works from financier Joseph H. Hirshhorn, who gave another 6,400 pieces upon his death in 1981; the museum's collection now numbers over 13,130 artworks. - "Revolutions" is the first in a series of exhibitions planned for the 50th anniversary; subsequent shows will survey art from 1960 to the present day. - As part of its 50th-anniversary vision, the museum has appointed its first curator of Latin American and Latin Diasporic Art, José Roca. - The anniversary is also marked by a major revitalization of the museum's iconic circular building and plaza, led by architecture firms Selldorf Architects and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
