Collectors Eric and Jean Cass recently donated over £4 million of modern and contemporary artworks to the Contemporary Art Society for gifting to museums. The gift is one of the most important in our 100 year history. In 2012, we distributed a selection of works from Eric and Jean Cass’s rich and eclectic collection to seven museums and public galleries in the UK to enrich and expand their current collections.
To continue our celebration of this outstanding philanthropic act, this autumn we will reflect on the impact of the gift on Wolverhampton Art Gallery, one of the recipient museums. Thanks to the vision of curator David Rogers in the 1960s and 1970s, the gallery now boasts one of the best collections of Pop Art in the UK, with works by Eduardo Paolozzi, Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein and David Hockney. The display reflects how the gift has enabled Wolverhampton to develop both its Pop collection with major works by British artist Allen Jones, as well as a new focus on the impact of European artists on the UK Pop movement, with works by Victor Vasarely and Karel Appel.