Self-Portraits of Stephen Pace: A Memorial for the Artist
November 8 – December 10, 2010
Stephen Pace, the internationally-known Abstract Expressionist artist and figurative painter, passed away in New Harmony, Indiana, on Thursday, September 23, 2010, at the age of 91.
His career spanned seven decades and his paintings, prints and drawings were exhibited in prestigious art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Mr. Pace and his wife, Palmina, have been very special friends of the University of Southern Indiana and to the Art Center in particular. They were key figures in the funding and completion of the Art Center, and the four art galleries are dedicated to them. Stephen Pace also generously donated 225 of his artworks to the University art collection.
The paintings, drawings, sketchbooks and photographs displayed provide an intimate look at how Pace not only saw himself as the artist, but also as the subject of his work, as son and brother, and as a partner in life with his wife, Palmina (Pam) Pace. A larger retrospective of his artworks will be held in the McCutchan Art Center in the summer of 2011.