BENTONVILLE, ARK.- An important art collection will remain intact and be viewed, appreciated, and studied by a wide public audience now that a long-term collection-sharing relationship is finalized between Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Fisk University in Nashville.

The agreement for sharing the Stieglitz Art Collection, bequeathed in 1949 by artist Georgia O’Keeffe to Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., was finalized by the Chancery Court and the Tennessee Attorney General on June 13 and filed by the Davidson County Chancery Court on July 31. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Fisk University each now own a 50 percent interest in the collection, which will be exhibited at both institutions at rotating two-year intervals. The agreement will allow the works to remain on display at Fisk for two uninterrupted years out of every four, thus allowing every Fisk student the opportunity to view or study the artwork for a period during the student’s academic career.

The Stieglitz Collection will be available for view and study by a wide audience at Crystal Bridges during its alternating two-year stay in Bentonville, Ark. Once planning and coordination between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges has been completed, a debut exhibition schedule will be announced. Crystal Bridges has welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors since opening to the public on 11-11-11.

The sharing agreement will enable Crystal Bridges and Fisk to co-administer the ongoing care and maintenance of the works of art, advance the educational scope of the collection for study and public appreciation, and to expand the artistic legacy of the artists whose works are included in the collection.

“We are looking forward to working with Fisk University as we begin this partnership and eventually present the Stieglitz Collection to the very large—and growing—Crystal Bridges audience,” said Don Bacigalupi, executive director, Crystal Bridges “It’s been many years and we are grateful for the time, effort and final court decision that will enable Crystal Bridges to enhance public access to this important collection. We’re feeling great about the future of the Stieglitz Collection. The Fisk-Crystal Bridges partnership keeps the collection intact and ensures its long-term preservation and access,” said Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges’ board chair.

In a release issued by Fisk University, Hazel O’Leary, President of Fisk, said, “We are, obviously, very pleased that this case was resolved in a manner that will ensure the future financial security of Fisk with most of the funds being used to strengthen Fisk’s endowment. We are also gratified to have Crystal Bridges as our partner in the ownership and care of the Collection. Crystal Bridges is rapidly becoming one of the finest art museums in the country, if not the world. Our sharing arrangement broadens the access to the collection.”

President O’Leary added, “‘Fisk Forever!’ has been the popular rallying cry of Fisk for decades. Today it has become a reality. Fisk will remain as Nashville’s oldest university, which has and will continue to provide a nationally recognized educational experience for its students and also to make an important contribution to Nashville’s culture and history. The Stieglitz Collection is not lost to Nashville, but is saved to be exhibited here for two of every four years. Fisk will, probably for the first time, have the financial ability and professional expertise available at Crystal Bridges to do everything necessary and appropriate to care for and exhibit the Collection.”

Victor Simmons, Director and Curator of the Fisk University Galleries, said, “Alfred Stieglitz spent much of his life advocating and supporting American art, including the support of American artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, John Marin and Charles Demuth, among many others. I can think of no better place for the art to be exhibited, while away from Fisk, than in a museum of such quality and as dedicated to American Art as is Crystal Bridges.”

The Stieglitz Collection
In 1949, Georgia O'Keeffe donated to Fisk University The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Modern American and European Art. Consisting of 101 objects, 97 of which come from her late husband’s art collection and four that were owned by O'Keeffe, The Stieglitz Collection contains a survey of modern art from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, including those by such masters as Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, and Diego Rivera, who were revered by modern American artists such as Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Charles Demuth, who are also represented in the collection. Additionally, the collection includes the iconic painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, The Radiator Building.