The Al and Vera Leese Collection

The Western Gallery celebrates the Al and Vera Leese Collection, a recent gift from their daughter Marian Boylan. Al and Vera Leese had a zeal for travel and education, believed in the individual formation of one's own expertise through reading and looking, and developed strong friendships with artists and long term relationships with art dealers and museums on the west coast. The exhibition focuses on this private collection begun during the Depression and ending with over 100 works from Northwest, American and European artists. The exhibition places private collectors' eyes in context with the development of an institutional collection.