Embarrassment of riches

by Doug Sitler

This summer the experience of walking down the rear hallway of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is simply jaw-dropping. For the lack of a more sophisticated phrase, it’s like strolling into the Hall-of-Fame of art, if there were such a thing. The first cluster in the quiet passageway feature names such as, Chagall, Dali, Gaugin, Matisse, Miro, Modigliani, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, and Van Gogh. You don’t even have to be an art expert to realize that those are some of the biggest names in the art world. What is equally interesting is that these paintings are displayed away from the more attentive main entrance…it’s almost as if the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is timid in showing the most acclaimed artists of the past 125 years.

Any gallery that features modern art would love to own just some works from this celebrated group of artists. Not here in Buffalo…as all these works are part of the Albright-Knox’s permanent collection. Depending on the exhibitions, you can pretty much guarantee that every visit to the gallery will produce an amazing encounter with the premier artistic talent of modern times. Within a few minutes of entering the gallery, you can understand why journalists and arts enthusiasts have proclaimed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery as being the home to one of the top contemporary art collections in North America.

Oh yeah, if those names above weren’t impressive enough, keep walking and you’ll be consumed by the larger-than-life painting “Convergence” by Jackson Pollock, or the fun and whimsical “Campbell Soup Cans” by Andy Warhol.

Just another day at the Albright Knox Art Gallery – in one of America’s top arts destinations.

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