It is rare
for large bodies of an artist’s work to be acquired
and held together in one place to provide the opportunity
for scholars, teachers, students and the interested public
to study the actual works of art in depth. The artists
generally make their work available for sale in order
to support themselves financially. Consequently, over
time, the work is disbursed throughout the world. The
majority of museums have only one or two examples of any
given artist’s work in their collections for reference.
In order for an institution to make an exhibition of the
full range of any artist’s work, it must rely on
the willingness of the various owners to lend their works
of art. The time and cost for shipping, crating, insurance
and visual documentation are exorbitant. Only the largest
and most heavily endowed museums have the staff and the
funding to make an exhibition of this type possible. These
loans are also made increasingly more difficult due to
the risk of damage and time constraints. Exhibitions are
only allowed to travel to two or three venues before their
contents are disbursed back to their owners.
The John and
Maxine Belger Family Foundation was created to help address
this problem by focusing on the works of relatively few
specific artists, and collecting and documenting their
work in depth throughout their careers. To date, the principal
focus has been placed on the painting, sculpture, drawings,
watercolors, photographs and prints of Robert Stackhouse,
William Christenberry and William T. Wiley, as well as
lesser, but significant holdings of Jasper Johns and Terry
Winters. The Foundation will continue to expand the scope
of its collection to include extensive bodies of work
by women, ethnic and naïve artists working in a variety
of media including ceramics, fiber and film in addition
to those already represented.
By covering
many of the expenses, and preparing and maintaining the
necessary scholarly archives, the Foundation can enable
a larger number of institutions throughout the country
(large and small, urban and rural) to host major exhibitions
for the public, students and scholars of their regions
which they would not be able to afford without assistance.
These conditions also allow exhibitions to be displayed
for longer periods of time. It is the Foundation’s
intention to conserve these bodies of work for future
generations. When they are not traveling, the works of
art can be viewed and studied at the institution’s
headquarters in Kansas City.
Due to the
extensive scope of this collection, curators are invited
to visit the Belger Foundation and select works for their
own exhibition.
