Crosscurrents Contemporary Art from the Speed Art Museum Collection and Beyond

Polly Apfelbaum
(American, born 1955)
Wallflowers (Mixed Emotions), 1990
Mixed media, wire, paper, tacks, pencil, glitter
69 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches overall
Purchased with funds from the New Art Collectors and the Alice Speed Stoll Accessions Trust 2004.9.3

Anthony Akinbola
(American, raised Nigeria and America, born 1991)
Lift Every Voice, 2022
Durags, acrylic on wood panel
149 × 73 1/2 inches (overall)
Museum purchase with funds generously donated by Jim Gray, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Erik Eaker and John Brooks, Sarah and Chuck O’Koon, and Ruth Simons 2023.4

Alice Neel
(American, 1900‑1984)
Priscilla Johnston, 1966
Oil on canvas
70 1/16 × 30 inches
Purchased with funds from the New Art Collectors and the National Endowment for the Arts
1980.14

Esteban Jefferson
(American, born 1989)
March 15, 2023 (Meserole Street & Avenue of Puerto Rico, Brooklyn), 2023
Oil paint and graphite on linen
60 × 51 inches
Museum purchase with funds generously donated by Brooke Brown Barzun and Matthew Barzun, 2024.4

Naudline Pierre
(American, born 1989)
For Now, I Promise, 2023
Oil and oil stick on canvas
36 × 72 inches
Museum purchase through the gift of Speed Contemporary, and funds generously donated by Woo Speed McNaughton, Sara and James Haynes, Sally and Stanley Macdonald, Dr. Jeffrey and Mrs. Susan Callen, Lopa and Rishabh Mehrotra, Nick and Ursula Melhuish, and Ruth Simons, 2024.6

Bob Thompson
(American, 1937-1966)
Self-Portrait in the Studio, 1960
Oil on board
40 x 30 inches
Museum Purchase with Alice Speed Stoll Accessions Fund and funds generously donated by Ambassador Matthew Barzun and Brooke Brown Barzun, Greg Brown and Scott Rogers, John S. and Mary Moss Greenebaum, and Alfred Shands, 2017.20

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JULY 19, 2024 — ONGOING

Galleries 1-5

Crosscurrents features an intergenerational presentation comprised of wide-ranging artworks from the permanent collection, recent acquisitions, and a selection of private loans from across the region. The installation showcases some 100 artworks created since 1960 that challenge and shape our views of the world. Artworks in Galleries 1-5 investigate the depth of the museum’s holdings, situating iconic and rarely seen works that mine topics around home, identity, conflict, representation, figuration, and abstraction with new acquisitions that address pressing issues of the moment.

The Speed’s contemporary art collection is dedicated to preserving artworks by makers and thinkers from around the world who reflect and explore the issues and artistic concerns of our times. This branch of the museum’s collection supports and celebrates living artists working across all media who explore socially relevant topics from local, national, and international perspectives.

Exhibition Season Support By
Cary Brown and Steven E. Epstein
Debra and Ronald Murphy
Sociable Weaver Foundation