April 25-August 25, 2014
Featuring contemporary artwork by European and American artists such as Robert Cocke, Ferran Garcia Sevilla, and Chuck Connelly, the works in the William Small Collection demonstrate the variety that exists in artwork made in just the past thirty years. Thought-provoking and pensive, this exhibition challenges the viewer to question life, the material world, and even one’s own existence on this earth.
Chicago native William Small was born into a newspaper family in 1924. The family resettled in Tucson where his father bought the Tucson Daily Citizen. A graduate of Tucson High, Bill Small later served in the Navy and worked in newspaper publishing in other cities before eventually returning to Tucson and . eventually become the publisher of the Citizen. After making his fortune through the sale of the newspaper, Small began a new path and started to collect art; over a span of twenty years he collected approximately 700 works of contemporary art. Upon receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis and only being given a few months to live, he hired local curator Jan Crebbs to find the museums and institutions that would become the new homes for his works. Adamant that the collection should be spread far and wide, his goal of reaching a wider audience was met; some 47 locations received pieces from the collection. The UAMA is proud to have been the recipient of 28 superb works.
