Hirshhorn Receives Major Gift of More Than 50 Iconic Works by Marcel Duchamp

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has announced a gift of more than 50 major historical artworks, including more than 35 seminal works by pioneering artist Marcel Duchamp, from Washington, D.C. collectors Barbara and Aaron Levine. The works will be complemented by 15 portraits, related photographs and works on paper by Duchamp's contemporaries as well as those he influenced, including Man Ray, Tristan Tzara, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus and Irving Penn, among others. This is the most significant gift of art since the Museum's Founding in 1974. The donated collection was gathered by the Levines over a period of two decades. Comprising works from the entire range of Duchamp's artistic output, this selection demonstrates Duchamp's influence on the development of art over the past century. Timed to the 50th anniversary of the artist's death, this gift will transform the Hirshhorn's Duchamp holdings from a single, late sculpture into one of the most important, in-depth institutional collections of his work in the U.S. The promised gift will also coincide with an exhibition examining the artist's artistic evolution opening fall 2019. In addition to the artworks that will enter into the museum's collection, the Levines are also donating their library of more than 150 books on Duchamp, dating from the late 1930s through the present. Among the volumes are several first editions, rare catalogs and ephemera. Together, the artworks and texts will establish the Hirshhorn as one of the foremost Duchamp study centers, making it a vital resource for students and scholars worldwide.