Standing as further testament to Aspen’s longstanding affinity with the arts, Chairman Emeritus of The Aspen Institute in the US, Leonard A. Lauder, recently donated a collection of Cubist art to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Spanning 78 works, including 33 by Picasso, 17 by Braque, 14 by Gris and 14 by Léger, the collection was described by the MET’s management as “truly transformational”.
Works featured, to name a few, are: Picasso’s The Scallop Shell, 1912; Braque’s Trees at L’Estaque, 1908; Léger’s Houses under the Trees, 1913; and Gris’s Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, 1912. Referring to his pledge, Lauder stated: “We collect them not to possess – no, to conserve – and everything will go to a museum”.
This is the latest chapter in Aspen’s long history of association with the arts. The idea of founding what was then called The Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies was first conceived in 1949, during celebrations for the bicentenary of the birth of the great artist Goethe. By 1950, the Institute had already set up the pivotal Aspen Conference on Design, which would go on to become The International Design Conference in Aspen. Then in 1965, the Artist in Residence program was launched in conjunction with an exhibition of drawings by de Kooning, prints by Chagall, as well as a number of Pop Art pieces. And in 1966, works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol could also be admired on display.
Yet another artistic link is the Bauhaus style in which architects Herbert Bayer and Fritz Benedict built the Istitute campus (Meadows Conference Center), which every summer hosts American and international guests alike. In 2005, an event again connected with art and culture and unique for America and indeed elsewhere was first held: the Aspen Ideas Festival, during which leaders from the business, political and cultural spheres took to the stage in turns to discuss and focus on strategic and innovative issues, while musicians of national and international renown took part in very high-profile concerts that drew large and enthusiastic audiences. And lastly, in 2012, The Aspen Arts Strategy Group was established with the aim of rekindling debate on the role of art in the United States and exploring the links between art and society.
Aspen Italia’s roots also lie in a longstanding commitment to the arts. In keeping with this spirit, the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana founded by Giovanni Treccani and Aspen Institute Italia will be holding an exhibition entitled “Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince and his times. 1513-2013” in Rome at the Vittoriano Museum Complex from April 25 to June 16, 2013. Organized under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, and with the support and collaboration of the Italian Ministry of Culture Heritage and Activities, Roma Capitale, and the Rome Chamber of Commerce, the exhibition will mark the fifth centenary of the writing of The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. Many highly-prestigious museums, along with a number of important private institutions and collections, have contributed to putting this landmark event together. Among others, they include, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Laurentian Library and the National Central Library of Florence, the principal museums of Florence’s Polo Museale, the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, and the Borghese Gallery and Capitoline Museums in Rome.
Lastly, Aspen Italia has for years also organized several roundtables and conferences focusing on issues related to managing and capitalizing on Italy’s vast artistic and cultural heritage.