Ways of Seeing: John Baldessari Explores the Collection

Recent gifts of 4 early works by American-born artist John Baldessari (b. 1931, California) provide an overview of the artist's important early period, in which he questioned the role of art and became a primary force in establishing what would later be termed "conceptual" art. In addition, to launch a new Hirshhorn initiative Ways of Seeing, Baldessari is the first artist to create an installation using works from the museum's collection. He selected a range of works—from the height of modernism to contemporary pieces—some of which have not been on view for decades. Works include paintings by Milton Avery, Philip Guston, and Thomas Eakins, and sculpture by Emily Kaufman.