DALLAS, TX.- To mark its 5th anniversary, the Nasher Sculpture Center will present In Pursuit of the Masters: Stories from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection through January 4, 2009. The exhibition, which is sponsored by JPMorgan, will highlight the personal stories behind the works of art, including Patsy and Raymond Nasher’s partnership in pursuit of the finest examples of modern and contemporary sculpture; their close friendships with artists, art dealers, and curators; and the insights that came from living with and sharing the works of art that they loved.

Featuring the great masterworks of the collection, as well as significant and personally meaningful works from its humble beginnings, the exhibition will present a personalized and intimate view of art by some of the most important artists of the past 125 years. While collecting the work of artists like Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, and Andy Warhol, the Nashers also had the rare pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with the artists and their subjects. Jacqueline Picasso, the artist’s wife and final muse, visited the Nashers’ home in Dallas, sharing intimate details about the works by her husband that the Nashers owned; the Nashers’ later visited Jacqueline in Picasso’s home in Mougins, drinking from terracotta cups that Picasso had made. The Dallas collectors also built a warm friendship with Henry Moore, visiting each other several times, one of them inspiring the artist to create a new work of art that he gave to the Nashers. Patsy Nasher shared with Andy Warhol a love of art, ancient American artifacts, and jewelry, which she traded with the artist for portraits of her and her three daughters.

The exhibition will also unveil to the public many of the most important works in the collection that, because of their personal significance, had remained in the Nasher residence, such as Jean Arp’s Torso with Buds, the first major modern sculpture in the collection, which Patsy had purchased for Raymond on his 46th birthday. The new installation of the collection will be complemented by numerous photographs, didactic texts, a new video and additions to the audio tour, including recollections of the Nashers from the artists, art world figures, family and friends who knew them best.

Raymond and Patsy Nasher began collecting art in the 1950s. After a trip to Mexico, they started a sizable collection of objects from ancient Latin America. A short time later, they acquired a number of important American modernist works, and in the late 1960s, began collecting large-scale modern and contemporary sculpture.

Both took much joy in the process, learning about the works of art that they considered and pursuing the ones that touched them most. They were a potent team: Patsy was diligent in her research and pursuit of works in which they were interested, and Raymond brought his expertise in the art of the deal. In the beginning, Patsy’s passion, drive, and focus were an important catalyst for the collection. According to Raymond, “she had a naturally inherent genius for distinguishing between excellent, good, mediocre, and poor works of art, and the confidence to make decisions herself. While I was doing business, she traveled to all of the openings in New York, got to know all of the gallery people, and many of the artists.”

Raymond was one of the first real estate developers to place art in his commercial complexes. His first retail shopping center in Dallas, NorthPark Center, was designed with the space necessary to display large-scale sculpture. He also played a leading role in the development and growth of all major arts organizations in Dallas. He established the Dallas Business Committee for the Arts in 1988, was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities by three presidents, and served on various committees and councils of numerous museums across the country.

Patsy was also involved with various museums across the country and served in several positions in governmental affairs. She was a hostess at the White House for the Conference on International Cooperation, 1965; a hostess for official functions at the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1967; and served with Raymond in international missions for the State Department in tours through Germany, the Soviet Union, Iran and Scandinavia, 1966-1967.

Together, they built one of the finest collections of 20th-century sculpture in the world. The Nasher Sculpture Center is the realization of the Nashers’ long-held dream to establish a public home for this priceless collection.