Sheldon Bonovitz, W’59, and wife Jill own more than 200 pieces from “outsider artists”—people who are self-taught or otherwise did not participate in the traditional “artistic discourse.” Their collection has gained accolades, especially recently. They donated it as a promised gift to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the iconic institution celebrated with a limited-run exhibit, Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection. Pictured (right) is the couple and (below) two pieces of artwork from the show.
Family Band. Jon Serl, Oil paint on fiberboard, 43- 3/4 x 104 inches (111.1 x 264.2 cm), Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, Photography by Will Brown.
“Boffo”. William Hawkins, Alkyd house paint on Masonite with fiberboard horns; textured mane and raised body made of alkyd paint mixed with broken starch chunks (possibly dried glue), 44-1/2 x 51-1/2 inches (113 x 130.8 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, Photography by Will Brown.
