Muskegon, Museum of Art

A Collector’s Gift: Works by Walter Shirlaw and J. Frank Currier

April 29 through August 8, 2010

Walter Shirlaw (American, 1836-1909)
Eager for the Fray
Oil on canvas, not dated
Gift of an Anonymous Donor

Muskegon Museum of Art
L2009.11.55

In June 2009, an Indiana man who had a quality museum experience at the MMA, gifted to the Museum a substantial group of more than 80 paintings and works on paper by American artists Walter Shirlaw and J. Frank Currier.

The Indiana collector, who wishes to remain anonymous, had for several years researched the work of Shirlaw (1836-1909) and Currier (1843-1909), two Munich School painters. In the 1870s and 1880s, Munich rivaled Paris as a major training ground for aspiring American artists. Shirlaw and Currier were among the principle Americans who studied at the Royal Academy of Art in the Bavarian capital during this period.

A Collector’s Gift showcases a select group of works from this remarkable donation. With subjects ranging from landscape and genre to still life and portraiture, this gift demonstrates the potential for building the MMA collections as we move toward our 100th anniversary in 2012.