Albright-Knox Art Gallery Acquires Curator & Collection in a Week

Some people only know about Buffalo because of the media and comedic hype about the weather and the all too famous snowstorms. Others know about Buffalo because there live the inventors of the savory and tasty Buffalo wings, or as others around the country may call them chicken wings. Yet still others know about Buffalo because of Scott Norwood’s wide right kick and subsequently four straight Super Bowl losses by the Bills. However, last week, Buffalo was in the national news twice and both times it was because of one the great institutions of the majestic city on the Lake Erie, otherwise known as the Queen City. That great institution is none other than The Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

For those who don’t know, The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has the most “modern important collection of modern and contemporary art outside of the Museum of Modern Art,” according to Charles Banta, president of the gallery board. The building, which was started in 1890 by John J. Albright and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is impressive on its own, but the collections donated by philanthropists A. Conger Goodyear, Seymour Knox and now Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo make it one of the most impressive galleries in the world with one of the most impressive collections of modern and contemporary art in the world.

Reportedly, Panza came to Buffalo last fall under the pretense of supervising the installation and display of his private collection of modern art at the Museum. The exhibit of his artwork, which is both large and impressive, was to have been from November to this past February. This past week his true intentions became known when 71 paintings, installations and sculptures became a partial gift to the museum. This exhibition spans a 40 year period leading up to the 1960’s and meshes well with the museums primary holdings which include much post 1960 modern abstract art. The worth of the partial Panza collection is valued at more than $3 million.

In the second piece of good news coming from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Heather Pesanti was hired as assistant curator of contemporary art. Ms. Pesanti has a lengthy resume and was most recently with the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and before that was with the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. According to reports, she will be focusing her skills and abilities on the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art, which means she will probably be working closely with the Panza collection that was just acquired.

Premiums From Larkin Soap Co. Now Antiques

Recently, while surfing on the Internet for interesting stories, I came upon some questions from readers asking about the worth of possible antiques. One question was about a music stand and another was about a rocking chair. In both instances there was a paper attached to these items that mentioned the Larkin Company of Buffalo, New York. Being originally from Buffalo, New York, this intrigued me and so I started doing some digging on Larkin.

It turns out; The Larkin Soap Company was founded in Buffalo, New York in 1875. The company was started by John D. Larkin, Elbert Hubbard and Darwin D. Martin. It started out as a soap company but in the early 1900’s it expanded to produce many other home products including furniture and even later they became pioneers in the mail order business. What is interesting to note about this company is that they were also pioneers in the marketing field. Items such as music stands and rocking chairs as well as other furniture were given away as premiums for product loyalty. This type of marketing became much more prominent during the Great Depression when other soap companies started putting Depression Glass into their soap boxes as incentives to buy and to maintain product loyalty.

Another interesting note about the Larkin Company was that the Larkin Building was built by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright in 1904. However after the Great Depression, the Larkin Company’s sales declined and they were forced into bankruptcy. The building was foreclosed on in 1945 and later sold in 1949. Sadly, in 1950 the building was demolished to make way for a parking lot of all things. Pictured is a chair designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Larkin Building.