PRESS RELEASE

July 23, 2002

Contact:
Katie Sproles, (541) 346-0942, ksproles@darkwing.uoregon.edu

MUSEUM OF ART RECEIVES MAJOR PHOTOGRAPHY GIFT

EDITORS NOTE For additional information about Berley, see the related sidebar story, "Biographical Sketch: Dan Berley, the Collector."

EUGENE, OR, July 23, 2002 — One of the earliest photographic images ever made, as well as original prints by such photographic luminaries as Imogen Cunningham and Alfred Steiglitz are among 35 photographs that New York collector Dan Berley recently gave to the University of Oregon Museum of Art (UOMA).

Berley’s gift from his extensive collection will make it possible for students, scholars and residents of Eugene and communities throughout Oregon to view and study original 19th- and 20th-century photography from around the world.

"This gift greatly enhances the scope of our photography collection," says Lawrence Fong, UOMA associate director. "Berley’s collection brings historical depth and a broader representation of American and European photographers to the museum’s more regional collection."

"For scholars and students to have Laura Gilpin’s ‘Lillian Gish, 1932’ vintage platinum print in hand is entirely different from their simply looking at a reproduction in a book," says Gary Tepfer, an internationally recognized Eugene photographer. "When the prints are exhibited, it will be an equally wonderful opportunity for the public to have access to these original works."

Known for his generosity, Berley has made the medium of photography accessible to the public by sharing his holdings with museums, libraries and other cultural institutions both in the United States and abroad.

Berley became involved with the UO Museum of Art through his friendship with Tepfer. The museum later showcased the Dan Berley Collection in two different exhibitions in 1995 and 1996. Berley says his positive experiences and personal interactions in Eugene inspired him to make the gift to the museum.

"The museum gave me two very nice exhibitions," Berley says. "I especially liked the second exhibition on 20th-century photography. The museum created a wonderful show, the catalog was beautiful, and I had good relations with everyone involved. I gave this gift because I know the museum will do a good job with the prints, will preserve them well, and will show the collection occasionally."

Included in the gift are rare salt and platinum print images. Among them is Édouard Loydreau’s 1851 salt print, one of the earliest images captured using photographic apparatus. Additionally, modern prints by Bill Brandt, Brassaï, Imogen Cunningham, Judy Dater, Laura Gilpin and Yousuf Karsh offer a wide range of styles related to portraiture in the past century.

The gift also includes hallmark images by Walker Evans, including one of his 1936 interior studies. A photogravure print by Alfred Steiglitz, "Goats Outside Paris, 1894" illustrates early examples of reproductions used for publications–in this instance, for Steiglitz’s own magazine, Camera Work, founded in 1903.

The UO Museum of Art’s collection of photography, along with prints and drawings, will be more accessible in the renovated museum’s expanded galleries for American and regional art, European art, and the Gordon Gilkey Research Center.

The museum’s renovation and expansion project, scheduled for completion in winter 2004, is partially supported by the State of Oregon, which awarded the project $6.36 million in state-serviced bonds. Additionally, the project is supported by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Other support comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Paul Allen, Donald R. Barker, and Chambers Family foundations. In addition, more than 750 individual donors contributed to the project.

For more information regarding the University of Oregon Museum of Art, call Katie Sproles, public relations and marketing coordinator, (541) 346-0942.

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