Collecting Conversation with Martin Muller

To celebrate his recent gift of 119 modern and contemporary works to the Museum, gallerist and bon vivant Martin Muller is joining us for a special evening of conversation with AMFA’s Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr., Curator of Drawings, Dr. Catherine Walworth.

Since founding San Francisco’s Modernism Gallery in 1979, Muller has championed artists through his collecting, exhibiting, and publishing endeavors. Notable examples include the first major Bay Area exhibition of Andy Warhol’s work in 1982 and the first solo exhibition in the United States for Swiss architect and artist Le Corbusier in 2003.

Over the years, Muller has maintained a close relationship with AMFA and local art collectors, co-organizing the Museum’s 2018 exhibition Independent Vision: Modern and Contemporary from the Martin Muller Collection and lending works by Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso for last year’s blockbuster exhibition Rivera’s Paris.

Highlights of his gift to AMFA include works by modern artists Oleksandr Bohomazov, Natalia Goncharova, and Mikhail Larionov; Dadaist and fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld; socio-political artist Gottfried Helnwein; realist John Register; formal abstraction artist James Hayward; sculptor Kristine Mays; and Pop artist Mel Ramos, among many others. In many ways, Muller’s donation commemorates his half century-long relationship with the city of Little Rock and the love of art collecting he has fostered among its residents.

This event begins at 5:30 p.m. with drinks and socializing. The conversation commences at 6:00 p.m. and concludes with a Q&A.

ARTWORK: Gottfried Helnwein (Vienna, Austria, 1948 – ), Portrait of Martin Muller (detail), 1996, gelatin silver print, 11 5/8 x 7/ 7/8 in.