A Significant Gift to Syracuse University

Rona and Martin Schneider Collection Exhibition to Open at Syracuse University’s Palitz Gallery

The Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at Syracuse University Lubin House, NYC, proudly presents “Selections from the Rona and Martin Schneider Collection of Late 19th and Early 20th Century American and European Fine Art Prints,” on view through November 15, 2018. Presented in recognition of the important 2017 gift to the Syracuse University permanent art collection from Rona and Martin Schneider of Brooklyn, New York, this exhibition features more than forty original prints, including etchings, drypoints, and mezzotints.

Rona Schneider, a well-known print dealer and member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association, specialized in late 19th- and early 20th-century American and European prints, especially those made as part of the “Etching Revival.” This exhibition, curated by Domenic Iacono, former director of the SUArt Galleries, highlights some of the important pieces in the collection, featuring renowned artists such as Stephen Parrish, Mary Nimmo Moran, Robert Swain Gifford, and Thomas Moran.

The New York Etching Club was founded in 1877. At their first meeting, Robert Swain Gifford made an etching that was printed by Leroy Milton Yale. An impression from that plate is in the exhibition. Over the next 20 years, members of the club produced thousands of prints, many of which were displayed in exhibitions held in New York City at the National Academy of Design, in Chicago at the World’s Fairs and the Art Institute, and in Europe at different venues.

The Etching Club helped to drive interest in the United States over the next few decades. By the end of 1932, print clubs and art societies could be found across the country, including in Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, and Chicago. In Europe and America both, print organizations led to annual exhibitions of printed art and books that included original works of art. In 1879, Sylvester Rosa Koehler began the American Art Review and published original prints as part of the magazine. The “Works of the American Etchers” became a feature of the magazine, and a large number of the prints in this exhibition came from that publication.

Iacono has commented, “This collection of late 19th-century American printmaking is one of the most significant gifts made to Syracuse University in many years for teaching art and helps cement the importance of the print in the Syracuse art collection.” He has also noted, “The Schneider collection adds to an already significant collection of work by noted artists, such as Whistler and Meryon, working during the Etching Revival.”

The Palitz Gallery is located in Syracuse University’s Lubin House in New York City. For more information about this art exhibition, click here.

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