1962 Building

Composed of impressionists, post-impressionists, and modern masters, The William S. Paley Collection included more than 70 paintings, sculptures, and drawings created during the alter half of the 19th century through the 1970s. Cézanne, Degas, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir were just a few of the masters represented in this exhibition, which brought more than 117,000 visitors to the museum.

William S. Paley was born in Chicago in 1901. As a pioneer in the broadcasting field, he built CBS into a news and entertainment giant. He was also a pioneer in art collecting, focusing on artists such as Cézanne, Derain, and Gauguin.  When he began acquiring art in the early 1930s, very few collectors were interested in what later became known as “modern art.” Traditionally, most collectors were concentrating on the “Old Masters.” When he started collecting modern art, Paley stated, “In the presence of these works of art which touched me, I felt a sensuous, aesthetic delight. I cannot plumb the depths of these feelings with words, but they would result in my wanting to surround myself with this kind of painting.”

In 1937, Paley joined the Board of Directors at the Museum of Modern Art. He remained active with MoMA throughout his lifetime, serving as President, Chairman and Chairman Emeritus. Paley was especially influential in the MoMA’s expansion in the early 1980s. The William S. Paley Collection was bequeathed to the Museum of Modern Art upon his death in 1990.

Buffalo was one of only a handful of cities that the exhibition visited and the sole city in the northeastern United States selected for the tour.

This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York.