Seattle art collectors Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis were frequent
visitors to New York City in the 1970s and early 1980s when they
collaboratively built their collection, filling their home with singular
works of art. Their shared legacy and passion for engaging thoughtfully,
deeply, and personally with art--and the frisson of excitement that
arises with such a connection--are celebrated and echoed in this special
exhibition catalogue.
Spanning 1945 through 1976, the paintings, drawings, and sculptures in
Frisson serve as significant examples of mature works and pivotal
moments of artistic development from some of the most influential
American and European artists of the postwar period, including Francis
Bacon, Lee Krasner, Clyfford Still, Philip Guston, Joan Mitchell, David
Smith, and others. Together they represent an inimitable archive of
innovation and a cross-pollination of leading artistic positions in the
postwar years. With twenty new scholarly essays written by leading
experts, Frisson provides the first opportunity for in-depth research
into and new insights about nineteen noteworthy artworks recently
acquired by the Seattle Art Museum.