Modern and Contemporary Art

When the present Untitled drawing was lent to the exhibition “Yale Collects Yale,” the collector wrote for the exhibition catalogue:
“I recall fondly my time at Yale and my friendship with Eva. We first met at the Yale-Norfolk Summer Art School in 1957. Her drawing was a wedding gift received in May or June of 1960. Eva and I spent the day in the Village shopping for my wedding dress, and later she had me look through her drawings to select one.”

The collector and Hesse met while students in the fine art department at Yale, studying with Josef Albers, among others. The two became fast friends as roommates at the summer program, and the drawing on offer here is accompanied by a personal collection of letters and postcards from the artist to her dear friend. Featured on the PBS television program Antiques Roadshow in 2022, the drawing and ephemera provide an intimate snapshot of a moment in Hesse’s development as an artist.

While a seemingly figural composition, the Untitled drawing also foretells Hesse’s mature works, draped and hanging constructions made of fabric, rope, plastic, fiberglass and other everyday materials, manipulated in fascinating three-dimensional forms. Her experimental use of materials and the variable nature of her work in relation to space both had tremendous impact on a generation of contemporary artists, despite her short career. In 1969 Hesse was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and after several surgeries, she passed away the following year at age 34. Hesse’s work continues to play a vital role in the history of art, and is featured in the collections of the Tate Modern, London, The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and was featured in a 2016 documentary film and numerous international exhibitions.