Solomons’ Treasure

For many years, numerous paintings by 20th-century artists coexisted with family photographs, books, and trinkets in the Cambridge residence of Arthur and Marny Solomon. Masterpieces by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cézanne adorned their walls. Additionally, in a repurposed carriage house serving as a gallery in their backyard, newer works by abstractionists like Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitzky, and Larry Poons sparkled.

Currently, these pieces are exhibited for the public’s enjoyment in the Harvard Art Museums’ showcase “The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond.”

“We are profoundly thankful to Arthur and Marny Solomon for their thoughtful preservation of these artworks over many years, and for their generous inclination to share them with the Harvard Art Museums, a place in the community that has always held a special place in their hearts,” mentioned Micha Winkler Thomas, the deputy director of the Harvard Art Museums.

The Solomons were both passionate art enthusiasts with deep connections to Harvard. Arthur served as a professor of biophysics at Harvard Medical School, while Marny worked throughout her career as a teaching fellow for various Harvard educators after obtaining her A.B. in art history from Radcliffe in 1958. In 1985, following decades of collecting both individually and as a couple, the Solomons pledged their collection to the Art Museums. It wasn’t until after Marny’s passing in 2020 that the transfer was finalized. Arthur had passed away in 2005.

From the Start

Arthur K. Solomon was born in 1912 in Pittsburgh into a close-knit and affluent Jewish family. His upbringing, according to Marina Kliger, the Rousseau Curatorial Fellow in European Art and one of the curators of the Solomon exhibition, was infused with art and aesthetics. The Solomons’ circle, which included prominent department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann, were recognized as “cultural leaders in Pittsburgh.”

Kaufmann’s son, Edgar Kaufmann Jr., would later take on the role of curator of industrial design at the Museum of Modern Art, while another boy from the neighborhood, A. James Speyer, became curator of 20th-century art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Arthur, however, pursued a degree in chemistry at Princeton. Yet, he maintained his artistic inclinations, engaging with New York-based photographer and modern art advocate Alfred Stieglitz as a mentor. Stieglitz introduced Arthur to the New York art world and the prevalent realist works of American artists at the time.

In 1934, Arthur arrived at Harvard to work towards his Ph.D. in chemistry. During that period, he made the initial two acquisitions for his collection — watercolors by American artists Edward Hopper and Charles E. Burchfield, which he had first encountered with Stieglitz.

Harvard contributed to the expansion of his collection as he audited courses in the fine arts department. One notable class was the renowned “Museum Work and Museum Problems” seminar held at both the Harvard Art Museums and in Professor Paul Sachs’ residence. According to Kliger, Sachs facilitated student visits to the homes of distinguished collectors in New York and Philadelphia.

“I believe that was probably the most significant element in my journey as a collector — witnessing these exceptional collections,” Arthur recounted during a series of interviews conducted by the Oral History Committee of Harvard Medical School.

His collection flourished throughout the 1930s, encompassing time spent in Cambridge, England, for postdoctoral research, where he encountered German art dealer Justin Thannhauser. Through Thannhauser, Arthur amassed works by Van Gogh, Degas, and Cezanne.

In the 1950s and ’60s, he primarily made his purchases through the New York and London-based dealer Julius Weitzner. Arthur subsequently took a short break from collecting following the passing of his
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first spouse, Jean, in 1963.

This continued until he encountered Marny — a collector in her own right.

The earliest evidence of Marny’s collecting dates back to July 1962, a decade prior to her union with Arthur. As Kliger states, it’s noted that Marny submitted two pieces to the Department of Conservation at Harvard’s Fogg Museum: a drawing of an unidentified subject by 17th-century Italian artist Pietro Francesco Mola and a print by 17th-century Italian engraver Stefano della Bella.

Marny shared a close friendship with Marjorie “Jerry” Cohn — curator emerita and previous acting director of the Harvard Art Museums. Their paths crossed in the early 1960s while Cohn was a conservation assistant at the Fogg. Marny would send artworks directly from dealers to Cohn at the museum, where she would mat and frame them. Cohn also acted as a confidante regarding Marny’s later acquisitions.

Marny primarily focused on prints. However, upon meeting Arthur, they began collecting a different category of art.

“When they connected in the late 1960s, both were already committed collectors. Arthur concentrated on 19th- and early 20th-century European art, while Marny was a passionate print enthusiast,” Kliger remarked. “After their marriage in December 1972, the Solomons experienced what they referred to as a ‘contemporary awakening.’”

One of their initial joint acquisitions came in 1974, when they purchased a 10-ton, 10-foot-long steel sculpture by Michael Steiner titled “Betonica.”

“The Solomons placed their new acquisition in their expansive yard at 27 Craigie St., where the sculpture endured numerous New England winters and became an integral part of the Solomons’ lives,” Kliger noted.

Their other acquisitions were showcased in their 19th-century Italianate revival residence. During the early 1980s, the Solomons began to run out of display space and transformed the historic carriage house on their property into a two-story art gallery.

Kliger describes the collection as “three collections in one.” Between their individual collections and the Solomons’ joint acquisitions, over 260 of their prints, paintings, and sculptures were donated to the Harvard Art Museums.

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Artworks from the Solomons’ collection are on exhibit until Aug. 17. The Harvard Art Museums are free to all visitors, operating Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.