Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra University Museum has received an unprecedented gift of Andy Warhol art from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a portion of which will be on display July 20 through September 20, 2009 in the David Filderman Gallery, Ninth Floor, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, south campus.

The gift, made through the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, was in honor of the foundation’s 20th anniversary. The Museum took ownership of its gift of 103 Polacolor prints and 50 Black and White Gelatin Silver Prints valued at $150,300 at the beginning of July 2008.

The Hofstra University Museum is one of 183 college and university art museums that received some of the 28,543 original Warhol photographs valued in excess of $28 million. Each institution received approximately 150 original Polaroid photographs and gelatin silver prints selected by Jenny Moore, curator of the Photographic Legacy Program.

“A wealth of information about Warhol’s process and his interactions with his sitters is revealed in these images,” noted Ms. Moore. “Through his rigorous – though almost unconscious – consistency in shooting, the true idiosyncrasies of his subjects were revealed. Often, he would shoot a person or event with both cameras, cropping one in Polaroid color as a “photograph” and snapping the other in black and white as a “picture”. By presenting both kinds of images side by side, the Photographic Legacy Program allows viewers to move back and forth between moments of Warhol’s “art,” “work,” and “life” – inseparable parts of a fascinating whole.”

According to The Andy Warhol Foundation President Joel Wachs, the aim of the Photographic Legacy Program is to provide greater access to Warhol’s artwork and process, and to enable a wide range of people from communities across the country to view and study this important yet relatively unknown body of Warhol’s work. The program offers institutions that do not have the means to acquire works by Warhol the opportunity to bring a significant number of photographs into their permanent collections.

Commenting on behalf of the University and the Hofstra University Museum, Director, Beth E. Levinthal stated, “The Hofstra University Museum is honored to have been a recipient of this generous and art historically meaningful gift from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program. This gift enhances the Museum’s collection of photography while expanding our ability to contextualize our prints and other collection works also created by Andy Warhol.” 

The Hofstra University Museum has been awarded the highest honor a museum can receive, continued accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Approximately less than 4 % of museums nationwide have earned this distinguished recognition. Accreditation certifies that the Hofstra University Museum operates according to professional standards, manages its collections responsibly and provides quality service to the public.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 150 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law.