Frisson: The Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis Collection

Showcases the extraordinary work of notable American and European postwar artists

Seattle art collectors Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis were frequent visitors to New York City in the 1970s and early 1980s when they collaboratively built their collection, filling their home with singular works of art. Their shared legacy and passion for engaging thoughtfully, deeply, and personally with art―and the frisson of excitement that arises with such a connection―are celebrated and echoed in this special exhibition catalogue.

Spanning 1945 through 1976, the paintings, drawings, and sculptures in Frisson serve as significant examples of mature works and pivotal moments of artistic development from some of the most influential American and European artists of the postwar period, including Francis Bacon, Lee Krasner, Clyfford Still, Philip Guston, Joan Mitchell, David Smith, and others. Together they represent an inimitable archive of innovation and a cross-pollination of leading artistic positions in the postwar years. With twenty new scholarly essays written by leading experts, Frisson provides the first opportunity for in-depth research into and new insights about nineteen noteworthy artworks recently acquired by the Seattle Art Museum.

Catharina Manchanda is Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Seattle Art Museum. The other curators are David Anfam, Michael Brenson, John Elderfield, Jack Flam, Carter E. Foster, Catherine Grenier, Bruce Guenther, Martin Harrison, Sanford Hirsch, Norman Kleeblatt, Eleanor Nairne, Amy Rahn, Elizabeth A. T. Smith, Robert Storr, and Jeffrey Weiss.