Lost Elizabeth Murray Painting Resurfaces After 45 Years, Debuts at Nasher Museum
This fall, Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art will showcase a previously presumed lost painting by Elizabeth Murray. The artwork, titled Bob (1977), was first displayed at the Paula Cooper Gallery in 1978 and acquired by a pharmaceutical firm, where it remained for over 45 years at its North Carolina location. Following the demolition of the building, the painting was donated to the Nasher in 2021 in a deteriorated state and subsequently restored with a $100,000 grant from Bank of America. Curator Marshall Price emphasized its importance in Murray's body of work. Notably, her auction record stands at $437,500, achieved at Sotheby's New York in 2019, with recent exhibitions sparking renewed interest in her art.
Key facts
- Elizabeth Murray's painting Bob (1977) resurfaced after 45 years.
- The painting will debut at Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art this fall.
- Bob was first exhibited at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in 1978.
- The painting was purchased by a pharmaceutical company and kept in North Carolina.
- The building was demolished due to asbestos, and the painting was gifted to the Nasher in 2021.
- Restoration was funded by a $100,000 grant from Bank of America.
- Murray's auction record is $437,500, set at Sotheby's New York in 2019.
- Murray was the subject of a MoMA retrospective in 2005.
Entities
Artists
- Elizabeth Murray
- Betty Woodman
- Mia Matthias
- Marshall Price
- David Kordansky
Institutions
- Nasher Museum of Art
- Duke University
- Paula Cooper Gallery
- PaceWildenstein
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Bank of America
- Sotheby's
- Artnet Price Database
- Camden Art Centre
- David Kordansky Gallery
Locations
- New York
- North Carolina
- Los Angeles
- London
- United States