Drawn from prestigious public and private collections — including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Smithsonian Institution of American Art — the exhibition explores the dynamic exchange between Hartigan’s groundbreaking mid-twentieth-century work and the bold New York poets who inspired her, such as Daisy Aldan, Barbara Guest, James Merrill, Frank O’Hara, and James Schuyler. 

Uniting works created between 1952 and 1968, The Gift of Attention offers a unique opportunity to experience Hartigan’s evolution during a pivotal moment in her career, when she deftly navigated between abstraction and figuration.

Grace Hartigan: The Gift of Attention is organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, and curated by Jared Ledesma, curator of 20th-century art and contemporary art. The presentation at Sheldon Museum of Art is organized by Christian Wurst, associate curator for exhibitions.