The Phillip G. Schrager Collection

Comprising fifty-two paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings, the transformative gift of art from the Phillip G. Schrager Collection to the Joslyn Art Museum encompasses some of the most significant developments in postwar and contemporary art, including legacies of abstraction, experimental approaches to painting, representations of the body, and the tension between fantasy and reality. Schrager’s interests were wide-ranging, both in terms of materiality and content. He gravitated toward large-scale abstract painting, yet he also embraced shifting ideas about the figure since the mid-twentieth century.

Pictured: Ed Ruscha (American, b. 1937), Clarence Jones, 2001, acrylic on canvas, 72 × 124 1/8 in. (182.9 × 315.3 cm), The Phillip G. Schrager Collection. Promised gift of Terri L. Schrager, © Ed Ruscha, Photograph © Bill Ganzel, Ganzel Group Communications, Inc.

Omaha business leader and philanthropist Phillip G. Schrager began collecting art in the 1960s, spurred by the success of Pacesetter Corporation, the home improvement company he founded in 1962. Schrager befriended the influential New York curator Klaus Kertess in the mid-1970s and began visiting studios and consulting with experts, at first purchasing works by established artists, including Brice Marden, Gerhard Richter, and Robert Irwin and soon championing those at the outsets of their careers, such as Ellen Gallagher, Laura Owens, Tara Donovan, and Neo Rauch. The inaugural presentation of the collection in the Hawks Pavilion at The Joslyn celebrates Schrager’s vision and passion for collecting and offers a sweeping perspective on five decades of art.

Pictured: Phillip G. Schrager, 2005. Photograph by Jim Krantz

A black and white portrait of an older man with short, dark hair, dressed in a pinstripe suit and tie, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression. The background is out-of-focus, creating a soft and professional ambiance.