For the Road: A Passion for Collecting

By Lori Moffatt

Nestled in downtown Dallas’ burgeoning arts district, the Nasher Sculpture Center marks its fifth anniversary in October. To celebrate that landmark, the center mounts an exhibition called In Pursuit of the Masters: Stories from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection . The exhibition runs September 20 through January 4, 2009.

“This exhibition is all about the backstory of the collection, about Ray and Patsy’s passion for collecting,” says acting chief curator Jed Morse. “We’re telling the story of their warm relationships with artists like Henry Moore, Andy Warhol, Beverly Pepper, and Mark di Suvero; and what it was like for the Nashers to live with some of those incredible works of art.”

Some of the pieces, such as Jean Arp’s sculpture Torso With Buds (1961), which Patsy bought for Ray as a birthday present, have never before been shown at the Nasher Sculpture Center. “The main thing that comes through,” says Morse, “is that the collection was a labor a love. They started off collecting very modestly, things they could afford.”

For more details visit The Nasher Sculpture Center or call 214/242-5177.

From the September 2008 issue.

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