The Albright-Knox Art Gallery announced Tuesday that it will be entrusted with the entire estate of the one of the most influential artists of the 1960s, Marisol.

“Marisol helped define the 1960s through her innovative and groundbreaking work, emerging as one of the most prominent artists of her generation,” said Albright-Knox’s Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director Dr. Jean Siren in the press release given earlier today. “We are moved, and profoundly grateful, that Marisol was similarly proud of her association with the Albright-Knox and took the extraordinary step of leaving her estate to our museum.”

This will be the largest gift the museum has ever received from any artist.

The museum will be receiving over 100 pieces of the famed sculptors’ work, over 150 works on paper, and over 1,000 slides and photographs.  Marisol’s gift to the museum is based on her longtime good standing with the museum, including having the fact that fact that the Albright-Knox was the first museum to purchase one of her sculptures, ‘The Generals,’ in 1962.

Marisol’s request is a reflection of the relationship the Albright-Knox exhibits with its artists, allowing it to gain the reputation of being a courageous and risk-taking art museum.

“The Albright-Knox accepts Marisol’s marvelous bequest with gratitude and a thrill of expectation,” said Tom Hyde, Chairman of the Albright-Knox Board of Directors. “The museum has long sought to establish relationships with artists just starting their careers. Marisol’s generous gift shows how deeply she valued that relationship.”

The French-Venezuelan sculptor is one of the most prominent female artists to have emerged from the 1960s and her work has been celebrated all over the world.  Marisol’s work has been displayed from famous galleries in New York City all the way to West Germany.

This announcement comes five days before the one year mark of Marisol’s death on April 30, 2016.

It will take years for the Albright-Knox to catalog this vast collection of work.  But every party is safe knowing that Marisol’s longstanding wish of having her work given to the museum who gave her her first jump is now a reality.

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