On the Surface: Works from the Permanent Collection

The Butler Institute of American Art’s Permanent Collection comprises approximately 22,000 works spanning the 18th through the 21st centuries. On the Surface brings a focused selection of these holdings into view through a salon-style installation devoted to pastel, charcoal, conté, and other loose media. The arrangement deliberately favors visual conversation over chronology, inviting unexpected encounters across generations, styles, and approaches to drawing.

Loose media occupy a fascinating position within the history of American art. Unlike paintings made with liquid binders, artworks containing loose media retain a direct, tactile relationship to the artist’s hand. Pastel, in particular, allows artists to work through gesture, layering, blending, and the expressive qualities of pure pigment. Its immediacy can capture fleeting light, atmosphere, and emotion while also revealing the physical process of making. Fragile and sensitive to light, these works often require careful conservation and limited exhibition, making their appearances in the galleries especially meaningful.

Pastel has been a particular collecting focus at the Butler for decades. The Museum’s longstanding relationship with artist, collector, and arts advocate Flora Giffuni has played an important role in shaping these holdings. Through its association with Giffuni and the Pastel Society of America, the Butler has hosted the Society’s Annual Exhibition for many years, introducing generations of visitors to the possibilities of pastel and building a significant collection of works through this relationship.

Highlights of this presentation include works by Yayoi Kusama, Charles Dana Gibson, Edward Hopper, and Joseph Stella. Many have rarely been exhibited; several are on view at the Butler for the first time. Together, they invite a closer look at the possibilities of the drawn surface, and at the extraordinary depth of the Butler’s collection.