Loosely defined as the art of today or the art of our lifetime, the term “contemporary art” is usually used more specifically to describe artworks created since the 1980s or 1990s. For collection purposes, the Frye Art Museum currently delineates the scope as 1990 to the present.
In the more general sense, the Frye has collected and exhibited contemporary—or contemporaneous—art since its opening in 1952. This commitment to the art and culture of the present was catalyzed by Museum founders Charles and Emma Frye, who amassed a collection of paintings made within their own lifetimes and often purchased works directly from living artists. Over the last seven decades, directors of the Museum have each brought their own interests and interpretations to bear on the Frye’s engagement with contemporary art and thereby shaped a distinctive collection.
Prior to the tenure of Elsa “Midge” Bowman (Director, 2004–09), and often counter to dominant trends in art of the time, the Frye’s leadership focused exclusively on exhibiting and collecting representational art, citing Charles and Emma Frye’s preferences for figurative and landscape painting. Under Bowman’s direction, the exhibitions program at the Frye expanded into areas like video art and performance that questioned and upended the definition of representational art. In 2008, the Museum’s mission was revised to embrace art in its myriad forms. The Frye’s contemporary art collection has grown significantly since that time, reflecting the diversity of the institution’s engagement with local, national, and international artists working today.
Bo Bartlett
Oil on canvas
2002
Andrew Raftery
Lithograph and chine collé
1997
Andrew Raftery
Lithograph and chine collé
1997
Del Gish
Oil on board
2004
Del Gish
Charcoal on paper
2004
Del Gish
Oil on linen
2004
Victoria Browning Wyeth
Gelatin silver print
1996
James Aponovich
Oil on canvas
1993
Gary Bukovnik
Watercolor on paper
2002
Mark Spencer
Oil on canvas
2000
Judith Glantzman
Pencil on paper
2002
Robert Weingarten
Inkjet print (Iris)
2001
Robert Weingarten
Inkjet print (Iris)
2001
Stan Washburn
Oil on canvas
1998
Raoul F. Middleman
Charcoal and conté crayon on paper
1999
Michael Bergt
Colored pencil and gouache on paper
1998
William Beckman
Oil on panel
2000
Ruth Weisberg
Monotype
1994
Lisa Zwerling
Oil on linen
1998
Stephen Fisher
Graphite on paper
1991
Lilian Broca
Graphite and spackle on panel
1999
William H. Bailey
Pencil on paper
1997
Robert McCurdy
Oil on canvas
1999
Doug Safranek
Egg tempera on panel
1998
Will Barnet
Lithograph
1998
Frederick Brosen
Watercolor on paper
1998
Carol Mothner
Egg tempera on panel
1998
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1990
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1995
Steven Assael
Oil on canvas
1997
Robert Schwartz
Gouache on paper
1994
David Ligare
Oil on linen
1993
William Allik
Oil on panel
1996
Leslie Morgan
Oil and copper leaf on linen
1993
George Fischer
Oil on canvas
1993
Richard C. Whitten
Oil and copper leaf on panel
1994
Peter Poskas
Oil on panel
1997
Harry Pattison
Oil on canvas
1997
William Beckman
Oil on canvas
1994
Odd Nerdrum
Oil on canvas
ca. 1992-93
Jamie Wyeth
Oil on panel
1995
Jean-Claude Michel
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1994
Ted Rand
Watercolor on paper
1990
Robert Connell
Sumi ink and gouache on paper
1993
John McIver
Acrylic on paper
1991
Andrew Wyeth
Pencil on paper
1992
Take Hama
Oil on cotton
ca. 1992
Peter Sculthorpe
Watercolor on paper
1990