Monet to Moore

The catalogue created to accompany the Monet to Moore museum exhibit.

From the introduction:

Unlike most corporate collections, that of Sara Lee Corporation has only one source - its founder, Nathan Cummings. From the large and scattered collection formed by Mr. Cummings over many years, Sara Lee Corporation identified a select group of fifty-two paintings and sculptures that had been produced over a century from 1870 to 1970 by major European modernist artists. These works, all of which at one time had been owned by Mr. Cummings, were acquired by Sara Lee during the course of twenty years in tribute to him as both businessman and art collector. Now, precisely twenty years after the Sara Lee Collection was begun, it is to be given away to museums throughout the United States and the world. This act, unprecedented for an American corporation, is the culmination of a fascinating history - the history of a private collection, of a public corporation's decision to "take that collection corporate" through the act of purchase, and of its ultimate decision to "take the collection public" through the medium of major urban art museums. The last decision will ensure that these important works by artists from Monet to Moore will be seen in perpetuity by diverse urban publics. Chicago, where Nathan Cummings moved his business in 1945 to create what was to become Sara Lee Corporation and where the corporation's worldwide headquarters remain today, has been awarded the largest share of this gift - twelve works in recognition of the importance the corporation attaches to its home city. But thirty-nine other museums have been designated to receive single works for their permanent collections as part of the Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation. This book documents that gift.