Connecticut Museum Promised Works From Picasso, Homer, Wyeth

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut museum says it’s been promised an “unprecedented” private collection of European and American art, including works from such well-known painters as Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth and sculptors Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti.

An anonymous Greenwich couple is making the bequest of 70 works, including paintings, sculpture, watercolors, drawings, prints and photographs, according to the Bruce Museum. It marks the largest gift of art in the 112-year history of the museum, which was originally built as a private home.

The bequest coincides with the museum’s planned $60 million renovation and expansion project, which will double the size of the building. The New Bruce is scheduled to open in March 2023.

“This gift is unprecedented in its scale and quality, and these works will further define the New Bruce as a museum that explores global stories of Modern and Contemporary art,” said Robert Wolterstorff, the Bruce Museum’s Susan E. Lynch Executive Director and CEO, in a written statement.

The collection includes Hopper’s Two Comedians, the artist’s last work. It depicts the painter and his wife Josephine dressed as clowns on stage.