In Passionate Pursuit: The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection and Legacy is the first comprehensive publication to document the richly diverse collecting activity and profound impact of the cultural patronage of Portland’s most distinguished post-war patrons of the arts and nationally-known art collectors, Arlene and the late Harold Schnitzer. Including painting and sculpture by Northwest masters, international glass works, Native American works, and English and American silver, the book presents singular artworks that form the core of their collecting activity and explores the impact of this deeply philanthropic couple’s activities as collectors, donors, and role models for successive generations in the arts. The curators of the Portland Art Museum will address the quality and impact of the Schnitzer’s collection on the Northwest arts community and the Museum.
In Passionate Pursuit accompanies a major exhibition at the Portland Art Museum of the Schnitzer’s richly diverse collection and their promised gift of art to the community, with essays by Museum scholars on the impact of the Schnitzer’s cultural patronage and collecting of Asian, Silver, Glass, Native American, and Northwest Art, an interview with Arlene Schnitzer, and a definitive list of the artists represented in the Schnitzer collection.