Faulconer Gallery Unveils Bequest of Works by Toulouse-Lautrec and Others

Grinnell College's Faulconer Gallery has received a bequest of 14 posters and lithographs by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, and others from the estate of William M. Moore. The collection is named The Lenny Seidenman Collection, Bequest of William M. Moore, in memory of Nina Seidenman ’71. It honors both Moore’s deceased wife, who attended Grinnell College for two years and remembered her time with great pride, and his father-in-law, Lenny Seidenman, who collected the art while doing Jewish relief work in Paris just after World War II.

The collection includes:

• Three posters, including the iconic Divan Japonais, and seven lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec
• A poster by Bonnard
• Three posters by Jules Chéret
• A large theatrical poster by Bécon.  

The works are now on view in the Print and Drawing Study Room on the lower level of Burling Library.

In making the offer of the collection, Moore wrote: “It has fallen to me to try to keep the collection intact by finding an eventual home for it, somewhere that would appreciate these incredible images when I am no longer able to enjoy them….”  The quality of the works and the connection with a Grinnell alumna, along with the family’s deep connection to education, made this bequest a wonderful addition to the Faulconer Gallery art collection.

Both Moore and Seidenman taught at Milton Academy, a private school in Milton, Massachusetts. Moore was raised in Vermont and Seidenman grew up in Europe, where her father was executive vice-president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, working in France, Italy, and other countries to relocate Jewish refugees.

“The Lenny Seidenman Collection adds wonderful posters and prints from the late nineteenth century to our works on paper collection. These posters and prints will be of interest to students and faculty in art, French, theatre, history, gender and women’s studies, and to our wider audience,” says Faulconer Gallery director Lesley Wright. “Moore first approached us about adding the bequest to his will in 2013; we are only sorry that he passed away shortly after we met — much sooner than we expected. We are honored to have the collection at Grinnell.”

The Print and Drawing Study Room is open Monday to Friday from 1–5 p.m.