Contemporary American Graphics Collection
The Orlando Museum of Art’s Contemporary American Graphics Collection is one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in Florida. The collection of 460 prints includes works by major artists of the past 50 years and documents the course of contemporary American art since the 1960’s. Among the earliest works are those by Pop artists Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Jasper Johns. These are followed by key artists working in a succession of expressive modes that include Hardedge and Lyrical Abstraction, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Photorealism, Neo-Expressionism, and other styles associated with contemporary art in the past two decades.
The Contemporary American Graphics Collection started in 1974 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and has grown with volunteer support and funding provided by the Orlando Museum of Art’s Council of 101. Since 1974, the Council of 101’s volunteer members have administered the Corporate Lease Program. This program leases a limited number of prints from this collection to businesses and organizations in Central Florida. By placing leased prints in publicly accessible spaces, they provide the community an opportunity to experience original art and learn about the art and artists of our time. Lease fees are used to purchase new prints each year, helping to build the collection. After prints have been leased for a limited number of years, they are retired from the lease program and exhibited only in the Museum’s galleries.