Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New

During a career spanning half a century, Ileana Sonnabend (1914–2007) helped shape the course of postwar art in Europe and America. Both a gallerist and a noted collector, Sonnabend championed some of the most significant art movements of her time. Artists as varied as Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Mel Bochner, Jeff Koons, Mario Merz, Robert Morris, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol worked with Sonnabend, whose support for difficult avant-garde work was legendary. Among the many important works that Sonnabend owned is Rauschenberg’s Combine painting "Canyon" (1959), which the Sonnabend family generously donated to The Museum of Modern Art in 2012. In celebration of this extraordinary gift, Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New accompanies an exhibition exploring her legendary eye through approximately 30 works presented in her eponymous galleries in Paris and New York from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. A biographical essay by Leslie Camhi, artists’ recollections and individual entries on the selected works provide further reflection on Sonnabend’s taste and lasting influence.