Download Press Release (PDF)

CINCINNATI—The Cincinnati Art Museum will unveil major highlights from the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Collection of post-World War II modern and contemporary art, on view beginning August 20. Generously given to the museum, the Weston Collection complements the institution’s documentation of 20^th-century art history. 

Alice F. Weston (1926–2019) was a renowned contemporary art collector, educator, and artist who committed her life to museums and cultural institutions across Cincinnati. She graduated from Vassar College at the age of 19 and later received an additional degree in graphic design from the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program at the age of 50.

Weston was an enduring supporter of the arts in Cincinnati. She became a longtime member of the Contemporary Art Center’s board of trustees and a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s board of overseers. In addition, she was a board member at the Cincinnati Art Museum. In 2017, she received the prestigious Cincinnati Art Award at the Cincinnati Art Museum for her lifetime contributions to the arts. In addition, Weston and her husband are the namesake of the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, which has showcased contemporary art for more than 25 years.

Through a lifetime of focused collecting, the Weston Collection came to encompass the works of many eminent artists, including Hofmann, de Kooning, Wesselmann, Dine, Saar, Dubuffet, Duchamp, LeWitt, and others. A major portion of the Weston’s modern and contemporary art collection was bequeathed to the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2019. The first piece the Weston’s purchased—Claes Oldenburg’s Box of Shirts—is part of this new installation. The showing will feature other key works including Andy Warhol’s Soup Can (Cream of Mushroom), Man Ray’s N for Nothing, Joseph Cornell’s The Sun Series, and Josef Albers’s Study for Homage to the Square: Blue Spring.

“We are so pleased that Alice and Harris bequeathed these works to the Cincinnati Art Museum. They were such friends to the institution. How and why they collected these pieces and being from Cincinnati makes the collection that much more important,” says Cynthia Amnéus, Chief Curator for the museum.

This special feature will be on view in the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Gallery (G105) on the museum’s first floor. No tickets needed; general admission to the museum is FREE. Photography is allowed with no flash. On social media, please share content using #CAMWestonLegacy.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as our members.

Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Special exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. cincinnatiartmusem.org

# # #