The Albright-Knox’s Janne Siren has announced the gift of 100 sculptures and 150 works on paper by Marisol the pop artist born Maria Sol Escobar who died last year at the age of 85.

The Art Newspaper says the deal came about because the artist died without a dealer:

The executors of the artist’s estate and the Albright-Knox’s management first met in late 2016 to discuss plans for the bequest. Marisol, whose dealer from 1966 to 1989 was the Buffalo native Sidney Janis, and was later represented by Marlborough Gallery, had no gallery representation at the time of her death.

This isn’t the first time the Albright-Knox has ended up with a major grouping of an important but under-represented artist’s work:

With this bequest, the Albright-Knox now holds the world’s most significant collection of Marisol’s work, bringing remarkable depth and richness to the museum’s superb collection of Pop art and modern sculpture.

Dr. Sirén commented, “Marisol helped define the 1960s through her innovative and groundbreaking work, emerging as one of the most prominent artists of her generation. The Albright-Knox is proud to have been the first museum to acquire Marisol’s work, having purchased her sculptures The Generals fromher solo show at the Stable Gallery in 1962 and Baby Girl in 1964. We are moved, and profoundly grateful, that Marisol was similarly proud of her association with the Albright-Knox and took the extraordinary step of leaving her estate to our museum.”

The museum has previously received major donations from artists whose work it has championed. Notable among these was a gift in 1964 of 31paintings by Clyfford Still, which remains one of the most extensive collections donated by a living artist to a public museum. The substantially larger Marisol gift becomes part of this ongoing tradition of artists the museum has supported early in their careers later helping to build the Albright-Knox’s outstanding modern and contemporary art collection.

Albright-Knox Art Gallery Receives the Estate of Marisol (Art Fix Daily)