Founding Friendships: Celebrating the Legacies of Elizabeth Kray and Stanley Kunitz

On View May 15 through November 14, 2012

At Poets House artists and poets alike take flight, helping one another gain altitude. —
Read Holland Cotter’s review of this exhibition in the New York Times

Poets House is proud to launch Founding Friendships: Celebrating the Legacies of Elizabeth Kray and Stanley Kunitz, an unparalleled exhibition of art works by leading post-war artists, as well as archival material by major poets. The show gives visitors a glimpse into the social circles and friendships that underpinned one of New York’s great creative eras and sheds light on the ethos that shaped the founding of Poets House 25 years ago.

The exhibition includes A Poet’s Circle — a selection of works by artists closely associated with two-time U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006), featuring works by Robert Motherwell, Philip Guston, Jack Tworkov, Saul Steinberg and Chaim Gross, among many others. A companion show, “Bettissima:” Treasures from the Elizabeth Kray Archives, showcases never-before-seen letters from E.E. Cummings, W.H. Auden and other literary luminaries.

A Poet’s Circle is curated by Jason Andrew

This exhibition is made possible with support from the Dedalus Foundation, Inc.