Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art
Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection at Grey Art Museum, NYU, 2019.…
Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Highlights from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection at Grey Art Museum, NYU, 2019. Photo: Nicholas Papananias
The New York University Art Collection
The NYU Art Collection, which the Grey Art Museum has stewarded since its opening in 1975, was initiated in 1958 with Francis Picabia’s Résonateur (c. 1922) and Fritz Glarner’s Relational Painting (1949–50). Today, the collection includes nearly 7,000 objects and is primarily composed of late-19th- and 20th-century works, ranging from Pablo Picasso’s monumental public sculpture Bust of Sylvette (1968), to one of Joseph Cornell's boxes, Chocolat Menier (1952), to a bronze Heech sculpture (1972) by Iranian modernist Parviz Tanavoli. The NYU Art Collection includes major donated acquisitions, such as the Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art and the Cottrell-Lovett Collection.
Explore a partial list of artists in the NYU Art Collection at the bottom of this page.
The collection’s particular strength is American painting from the 1940s to the present, with works by such well-known artists as Romare Bearden, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Louise Nevelson, Kenneth Noland, and Ad Reinhardt. European prints are also well represented, with works by Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, and Picasso, to name a few.
When Abby Weed Grey endowed the Grey Art Museum in 1974, she expanded the NYU Art Collection with a gift of some 1,000 works of modern art that she acquired during her frequent travels in Asia and the Middle East. Truly an unparalleled and unique resource, the Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art includes some of the largest institutional holdings of Iranian, Indian, and Turkish modern art outside those countries.
One focus of Grey Art Museum acquisitions is art that has emerged from downtown New York’s creative milieu, as seen in works by Norman Bluhm, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Deborah Kass, and Glenn Ligon, among others. In 2022 the museum announced a major gift of over 200 works by downtown New York artists from longtime art patrons and social activists Dr. James Cottrell and Mr. Joseph Lovett.
Featured Artworks
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Romare Bearden, Spring Way, 1964. Photograph on Masonite, 26 x 37 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Norman Bluhm, Meet Me In The Park, from 22 Poem Paintings, 1960. Gouache on paper, 19 1/4 x 14 in. Grey Art Museum, New York…
Joseph Cornell, Chocolat Menier, 1952. Mixed media construction, 17 1/4 x 12 x 4 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York…
Helen Frankenthaler, Seascape with Dunes, 1962. Oil on canvas, 70 x 140 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Peter Hujar, Charles Ludlam backstage at 'Galas,' Ridiculous Theater, 1974. Vintage gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in. Grey…
Alex Katz, Ada Ada, 1959. Oil on canvas, 49 1/2 x 50 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of Mr.…
Yayoi Kusama, No. Red A, 1960. Oil on canvas, 71 x 63 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Tom Lloyd, Moskee, 1967–68. Electronic sculpture, 36 x 40 1/4 x 4 7/8 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Louise Nevelson, The Tropical Gardens, 1957. Painted wood construction, 99 x 133 1/8 x 9 in. Grey Art Museum, New York…
Francis Picabia, Résonateur (Resonator), c. 1922. Gouache and ink on composition board, 28 1/2 x 21 in. Grey Art Museum, New…
Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled (formerly titled Collage with Horse), 1957. Oil, plain and printed papers, wood, and fabric on…
Kara Walker, Testimony, 2005. Photogravure, 22 1/2 x 30 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Milton Avery, Jagged Wave, 1954. Oil on canvas, 30 x 54 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of the…
Donald Baechler, The Lucky Ring, 2008. Silkscreen on paper, 19 x 14 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection.…
Ilya Bolotowsky, Large Architectural, 1951. Oil on canvas, 65 x 90 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
James Brown, Untitled (New York), 1991. Acrylic and gold leaf on panel, 18 x 14 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Willem De Kooning, Woman with a Green and Beige Background, 1966. Oil on paper mounted on Masonite, 28 1/2 x 22 3/4 in. Grey…
Roland Flexner, Untitled, 2009. Digital print, 17 x 44 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of the…
Adam Fuss, Jim and Joe, 2006. Gelatin silver print, 31 x 39 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Mary Heilmann, Rompecabeza Uno, 2000. Acrylic on wood panel, 14 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 3 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Al Held, A Mural Sketch, 1964. Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 64 1/2 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection.…
Hans Hofmann, Blue Balance, 1949. Oil on canvas, 30 x 38 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Deborah Kass, The Call of the Wild (For Pat Steir), 1989. Mixed media on paper, 12 1/2 x 16 in. Grey Art Museum, New York…
Deborah Kass, Untitled, 1986. Gouache on paper, 16 x 24 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of the…
Adrian Kellard, Head I, 1989. Carved wood and paint, 41 1/8 x 41 1/8 x 1 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Adrian Kellard, Head II, 1989. Carved wood and paint, 41 1/8 x 41 1/8 x 1 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Nicholas Krushenick, Untitled (from the Iron Butterfly portfolio), 1968. Silkscreen on paper, 35 1/2 x 27 1/2 in. Grey Art…
Glenn Ligon, Boy on Tire, 2004. Seriograph print, 41 x 31 1/2 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift…
Robert Mapplethorpe, Untitled #2, 1985. Photogravure with silkscreen and watercolor, 30 x 24 3/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New…
Agnes Martin, Wood #4, 1964. Ink on paper, 8 15/16 x 8 15/16 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift…
Suzanne McClelland, Raft #2, 1998. Mixed media on paper, 15 x 20 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection.…
Robert Motherwell, Untitled, 1958. Mixed media collage on paper, 14 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University…
Kenneth Noland, Spread, 1958. Oil on canvas, 117 x 117 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal, Sculpture Sketch, 1960. Brass, 12 1/2 x 10 x 4 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Cindy Sherman, Ancestor, 1985. Chromogenic print, 8 1/2 x 6 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Cindy Sherman, Towel Head, 1975 (printed 1995). Gelatin silver print, 7 1/2 x 9 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art…
Laurie Simmons, Untitled, 1993. Chromogenic print, 10 x 12 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift of…
Philip Smith, Portrait #9, 1992. Oil and wax on linen, 10 x 7 in. Grey Art Museum, New York University Art Collection. Gift…
Collection Highlights
Artists in the Collection
Shiva Ahmadi
Mahmud Ahmadi
Nevzat Akoral
Ambadas
Jaya Appasamy
Siah Armajani
Mustafa Aslier
Milton Avery
Donald Baechler
Jamal Bakhshpour
Prabhakar Barwe
Romare Bearden
Aliye Berger
Nurullah Berk
Sabri Berkel
Sadan Bezeyis
Dhanraj Bhagat
Norman Bluhm
Ilya Bolotowsky
James Brown
Ali Avni Çelebi
Joseph Cornell
Bimal Das Gupta
Shanti Dave
Elaine De Kooning
Willem De Kooning
Sonia Delaunay
Nejad Melih Devrim
Kamran Diba
Bijan Dowlatshahi
Âbidin Elderoğlu
Devrim Erbil
Cemil Eren
Ahmad Esfandiari
Mustafa Esirkus
Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu
Eren Eyüboğlu
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
Roland Flexner
Helen Frankenthaler
Adam Fuss
Mansour Ghandriz
Fritz Glarner
Gündüz Gölünü
Behrooz Golzari
Arshile Gorky
Adolph Gottlieb
Marcos Grigorian
Satish Gujral
Ahmet Gürsoy
Grace Hartigan
Mary Heilmann
Al Held
Hans Hofmann
Somnath Hore
Peter Hujar
Maqbool Fida Husain
Nevin Islek
Mahmud Javadipur
Özer Kabaş
Ercüment Kalmık
Deborah Kass
Alex Katz
Hasan Kavruk
Fethi Kayaalp
Hossein Kazemi
Adrian Kellard
Krishen Khanna
Hossein Khatayi
Sumbat Kiureghian
Füreya Koral
Chitrangada Krishna
Devayani Krishna
Kanwal Krishna
Nicholas Krushenick
Ram Kumar
Yayoi Kusama
Glenn Ligon
Tom Lloyd
Sirous Malek
Édouard Manet
Robert Mapplethorpe
Agnes Martin
Seyhoun Masoumeh
Henri Matisse
Suzanne McClelland
Anjolie Ela Menon
Joan Mirò
Morteza Momayez
Robert Motherwell
Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Khameneh)
Louise Nevelson
Kenneth Noland
Nasser Ovissi
Ru'in Pakbaz
Francis Picabia
Pablo Picasso
Faramarz Pilaram
Robert Rauschenberg
Krishna Reddy
Ad Reinhardt
Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal
Behjat Sadr
Mohan Samant
Gulam Rasool Santosh
Sohrab Sepehri
Cindy Sherman
Laurie Simmons
Philip Smith
Francis Newton Souza
Mumtaz Sultan Ali
Vivan Sundaram
Jazeh Tabatabai
Sadegh Tabrizi
Parviz Tanavoli
Esmail Tavakoli
Adnan Turani
Jehangir P. Vazifdar
Kara Walker
Hamid Zarrine-Afsar
Fahrelnissa Zeid
Charles Hossein Zenderoudi