The Saint Louis Art Museum celebrates the extraordinary gift of the Thelma and Bert Ollie Memorial Collection with The Shape of Abstraction: Selections from the Ollie Collection, an exhibition of 40 abstract paintings, drawings and prints by Black artists. Numerous prints, drawings and collages in the collection represent multiple generations of Black abstract artists ranging from Norman Lewis and Herbert Gentry, whose careers began in the mid-20th century; to Gilliam and Clark, who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of these artists are at the height of their art careers today. The title of the exhibition references a poem written by St. Louis’ Quincy Troupe in response to artworks included in the Ollie gift.
New Jersey-based collector Ronald Maurice Ollie, who grew up in St. Louis, and his wife, Monique McRipley Ollie, gave 81 works of art to the museum in 2017. This gift represents the single largest gift of art by an African American to the museum. “This transformative gift is a testament to years of passionate collecting that is both focused and far reaching,” Brent R. Benjamin, the Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, said at the time the gift was announced. “I am deeply grateful to Ronald and Monique Ollie, whose generosity will help our visitors enjoy a richer and more diverse understanding of postwar American art.”
This collection is named in honor of Ronald Ollie’s parents, Thelma and Bert Ollie, who were frequent visitors to the Saint Louis Art Museum and instilled in Ronald and his siblings a deep appreciation of art. Ollie’s childhood fascination with abstract art grew into a passion for collecting which he gifted to the St. Louis community. Ollie retired after a 30-year career in business development that included leadership positions at major Fortune 500 firms and top architecture and engineering firms across the country.
The Shape of Abstraction: Selections from the Ollie Collection will be on view September 17 through March 8, 2020. Admission to the exhibition is free, and we invite you to also join us for an exciting variety of related programs supported by a grant from the Trio Foundation of St. Louis. Please visit www.slam.org for ticket information.
Saturday, September 21 at 11 am: Black in the Abstract: Meditations on Black Artists Working with Abstraction from the 1950s to the Present, our opening lecture by scholar and curator Valerie Cassel Oliver.
Friday, October 11 at 7 pm: The Shape of Abstraction: Trumpet and Voice, Call and Response,a collaborative performancefeaturing poet, editor, and author Quincy Troupe and trumpeter, composer and music producer Keyon Harrold.
Sunday, October 27 at 2 pm: Almost My Last and Only, a performance by the Harlem Quartet
Saturday, November 30 at 2 pm: Abstract Art by Black Artists: A Collector’s Journey, a lecture by Ronald Ollie.
