With the holidays approaching, everyone has been busy making lists of gifts they want to receive and those they will give. But go ahead and cross the Miami Art Museum off of your gift-giving list, because the museum just got a big one. In fact it is the largest single donation of art that the institution has ever received. Charles Cowles, noted art dealer and director of the Charles Cowles Gallery in New York City, has promised MAM 101 photographs from the exhibition Modern Photographs: The Machine, the Body, and the City -- Gifts from the Charles Cowles Collection. Not only did he give such a generous donation, but also he let the museum choose from his collection of about 1000 pieces acquired over the past 30 years.
I believe the strength of a collection lies in the diversity of interesting images and not necessarily in the fame of the artist, Cowles states. But there is quite a bit of fame represented here: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Rineke Dijkstra, Man Ray, Sally Mann, Garry Winogrand, Cindy Sherman, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Andy Warhol, to name a few. The exhibit, which opens today and is on view through April 15, spans the breadth of photographic works from the 20th and 21st centuries and includes portraits, landscapes, and architecture. Admission is five dollars, free on Sundays. Call 305-375-3000, or visit www.miamiartmuseum.org.
Nov. 16-April 15