Stefan Edlis Gives $500m in Paintings to Art Institute of Chicago, Including 9 Warhols

Stefan Edlis has sold a lot of great art. But he’s got so much more he’s giving the Art Institute of Chicago “42 pieces by nine silk-screens by Andy Warhol; a trio of Jasper Johns paintings; a pair of paintings by Roy Lichtenstein; a quartet of Gerhard Richter paintings and an early sculpture and painting by Cy Twombly.” That still leaves him and his wife with 150 works at home:

the museum has pledged to show his works as a group for the next 25 years in a series of galleries comprising roughly 6,000 square feet in its six-year-old Modern Wing, designed by Renzo Piano. These pieces are set to be installed on the second floor of the wing in November and go on public view in early January 2016.

Subsequently, the museum has agreed to show the 42 works commingled with others in the broader collection for another 25 years,—giving the collection a half-century on public view, a rarity in any museum.

“I feel like I hit the jackpot,” said Mr. Edlis. “Collectors all over the world are trying to figure out what to do with their art. Do they give it away or build their own museums? A lot of collections get sold or dispersed simply because the art has nowhere to go.”

Art Institute of Chicago Gets $500 Million Gift of Art  (WSJ)

Edlis Gift (PDF of all 42 works)