Dialogues & Conversations

This year, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary with an exhibition organized by its founder and chair, Emily Rauh Pulitzer. Dialogues & Conversations explores the nature of artistic exchange, both within Mrs. Pulitzer’s life and across the broader arc of art history. It traces dialogues between artists and the long-term engagements that have shaped her as a curator and collector.

Dialogues & Conversations features work by over 30 artists, including Edgar Degas, Willem de Kooning, Dan Flavin, Alberto Giacometti, David Hammons, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman, Medardo Rosso, and Doris Salcedo, among others. These include 85 sculptures, drawings, paintings, prints, and photographs dating from the late 19th century to the present. The exhibition offers an opportunity to view works of art from Mrs. Pulitzer’s collection, which she assembled over many decades with her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr., who was an esteemed collector in his own right. Joining these are works she helped acquire as a curator for the Harvard Art Museums and Saint Louis Art Museum; loans from Museum of Modern Art and private lenders; and works featured in previous Pulitzer exhibitions.

“The title Dialogues & Conversations is on point,” says Cara Starke, executive director. “For Emmy, collecting and living with art is an ongoing conversation with both the artwork and the artist. This exhibition reflects her more than six decades in the field, observing and participating in exchanges among artists as both curator and collector.”

Says Mrs. Pulitzer, “I began my professional life over 60 years ago at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard, where I was often asked to show works from the collection to a wide range of people—from professors and students to non-experts from other disciplines. It was through this experience that I developed an appreciation for close looking and the value of interdisciplinary exchange. Relationships between artists, as well as my own long-term engagement with them, have informed the shape of this exhibition.”

Dialogues & Conversations is organized by Emily Rauh Pulitzer with support from Molly Moog, Curatorial Associate.

Curator biography
Emily Rauh Pulitzer began her career at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University in 1957 before joining the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) in 1964, where she served as the sole curator, overseeing all time periods and cultures. Over nine years, she helped build its modern and contemporary collection and organized exhibitions of living artists. After leaving SLAM, she co-curated the first exhibition of Ellsworth Kelly’s sculpture, presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1982) and SLAM (1983). In 1973, she married Joseph Pulitzer Jr., publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with whom she shared a passion for collecting. In addition to founding the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, she has championed St. Louis cultural organizations and supported journalism and public media, including serving as chair of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which she co-founded in 2006. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2011 from President Barack Obama. She is an alumna of Bryn Mawr College, the École du Louvre, and Harvard University, and has received honorary degrees from several institutions.

Publication
On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation will release a comprehensive illustrated history of its founding and evolution. The publication features contributions from individuals central to the museum’s history, including an interview with Emily Rauh Pulitzer; reflections by artists Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, and Glenn Ligon; and texts by Executive Director Cara Starke and Senior Curator Stephanie Weissberg.

About the Pulitzer
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation is dedicated to bringing world-class art and exhibitions to the St. Louis region. Exhibitions include contemporary and historic art and are complemented by a wide range of free public programs, including music, literary arts, dance, and cultural discussions. Open and free to all, the Pulitzer is a cultural and civic asset to St. Louis and a popular destination for visitors from around the world. For more information, visit pulitzerarts.org.