The Chrysler Museum to Present Extraordinary Collection of Modern Prints

Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997), Industry and the Arts, 1969, Screenprint, Lent by Susan and David Goode, © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

July 11, 2022 (Norfolk, Va.) – This summer, the Chrysler Museum of Art welcomes an extraordinary collection of modern prints on loan from David R. and Susan S. Goode of Norfolk. Lasting Impressions: Prints from the Collection of David R. and Susan S. Goode will be on view July 1 – November 6. This exhibition was announced earlier this year following the Goode’s $2.5 million donation to the Museum to establish the Goode Works on Paper Center and a group of 100 photographs by O. Winston Link, which will be added to the Chrysler collection over the next three years.

The Goodes have collected prints for decades. “Susan and I first turned to prints because of affordability, but we became interested not just in their beauty but in the fascinating process. We were lucky to make friends with an iconic New York dealer who happily guided our somewhat different interests—Susan in the contemporary New York scene and mine in black and white industrial works (and yes, including railroads),” writes David, retired chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern. The artists on view include Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Peyton, Robert Gwathmey, Richard Diebenkorn, Faith Ringgold, and Kara Walker. “I’m thrilled to be exhibiting the Goodes’s wonderful collection of modern prints, including important works by artists that are not represented in the Chrysler’s collection,” said Lloyd DeWitt, Ph.D., Chief Curator and Irene Leache Curator of European Art and organizer of the exhibition Lasting Impressions.

Many of these artists have been inspired by the democratic character of printmaking, which disseminates original works by the artist’s own hand to a far broader and larger base of collectors than any other medium. The technical innovations of contemporary artists also fascinated the Goodes. “Our interest has continued right up to the present, as we became more involved with the interesting world of prints and how they are made,” said Mr. Goode.

Artists like Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Motherwell translated the effects of their monumental gestural abstract paintings into the new medium with uncanny precision while exploiting the luminous quality of ink on paper. David Hockney expanded printmaking into the realm of the modern color photocopier. Frank Stella sought to move printmaking into the third dimension with relief prints. Robert Gwathmey exploited the bold, graphic, and commercial character of screen printing to heighten the urgency of his social commentary on Sharecroppers. Kara Walker, who unflinchingly presents the violence of slavery in 19th-century-style silhouettes, exploited lithographic tusche (ink) to transform those shapes into swirling, seething forms.

“The prints are integral to our total collecting interest. That is why we are so pleased to see the Chrysler moving to make prints, photographs, and works on paper more accessible for everyone and encourage their study as a crucial part of the art canon,” David continued.

About the Chrysler Museum of Art

The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. The Museum has growing collections in many areas and mounts an ambitious schedule of visiting exhibitions and educational programs each season. The Chrysler has also been recognized nationally for its unique commitment to hospitality with its innovative gallery host program.

The Perry Glass Studio is a state-of-the-art facility on the Museum’s campus. The studio offers programming for aspiring and master artists alike in a variety of processes, including glassblowing, fusing, flameworking, coldworking and neon.

In addition, the Chrysler Museum of Art administers the Moses Myers House, a historic house in downtown Norfolk, as well as the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. For more information on the Chrysler Museum of Art, visit chrysler.org.

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