Through January 31, 2016, the Palm Springs Art Museum presents A Passionate Eye: The Weiner Family Collection, an exhibition that brings together 61 paintings and sculptures amassed by Ted and Lucile Weiner. The couple — Ted a film financier and oil executive, and Lucile an avid collector — assembled a focused group of modern and modernist works that highlight major figures in 20th-century art.
The exhibition features Marino Marini’s striking sculpture The Warrior, a powerful exploration of form and presence, alongside Henry Moore’s Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 3, an archetypal example of Moore’s interest in the human figure and abstracted mass. Visitors will also encounter Marc Chagall’s The Village, which reflects Chagall’s lyrical approach to color, memory, and narrative. The presentation includes several sculptures by Pablo Picasso, offering a view into the artist’s sculptural practice and its relationship to his painting and drawing.
Beyond the works on the walls and pedestals, the exhibition installation is supported by interpretive materials that deepen understanding of the Weiner collection and its formation. A filmed interview with the Weiners’ daughter, Gwendolyn, provides firsthand perspective on the family’s collecting priorities, their encounters with artists and dealers, and the personal connections that informed their choices. Complementing the gallery experience is a comprehensive catalogue that documents the works and lays out the collection’s history. The catalogue includes an essay on the Weiner archives by Steven A. Nash, the museum’s former executive director, who brings curatorial expertise and archival knowledge to bear on the collection’s provenance and significance.
A Passionate Eye showcases the Weiners’ commitment to building a cohesive group of works that speak to the development of modern art across sculpture and painting. The selection emphasizes sculptural innovation and painterly expression, allowing visitors to trace stylistic dialogues among artists and across media. The varied works in the collection — from figuration to abstraction, and from intimate canvases to commanding three-dimensional pieces — provide multiple entry points for viewers, whether they come with deep familiarity or a budding interest in modern art.
Installed thoughtfully within the museum’s galleries, the collection benefits from lighting, sightlines, and wall treatments that highlight formal qualities such as scale, surface, and composition. The exhibition design encourages close looking while also offering space for reflection, enabling visitors to appreciate both individual masterpieces and the thematic relationships that unite them.
The video interview and the catalogue together serve as accessible interpretive resources. Gwendolyn Weiner’s recollections add a personal dimension to the works on view, revealing how private tastes, travel, and relationships with artists influenced the collection. Steven A. Nash’s contribution situates the Weiner holdings within a broader institutional and historical context, tracing acquisitions and documenting the family archives for future scholarship.
For those interested in modern sculpture and painting, A Passionate Eye: The Weiner Family Collection provides a well-curated encounter with important works by internationally recognized artists. The exhibition offers insight into the collecting practices of a private family and how that collecting has contributed to public appreciation of modern art. Visitors to the Palm Springs Art Museum through January 31, 2016 can experience this thoughtfully assembled body of work and the interpretive materials that illuminate its history.