In many ways, I believe as art observers we often discount an art collection with range and variety that spans decades and genres. Social media has perhaps changed our perceptions of art collecting because we see a range in our feeds everyday: an O'Keeffe can scroll to a Banksy which could then flow into Japanese ceramics. But a good art collection should reflect thte times, and a dedicated collection and can help define the times. So is the story behind The World Stage, an exhibition of 90 contemporary artworks by 35 renowned American artists drawn from the collection of renowned art collector and philanthropist Jordan D. Schnitzer, on view at the Nevada Museum of Art from March 14—May 24, 2020. 

Schnitzer's collection has some of the most notable names in the contemporary American canon as well as classics from the 20th Century, from Basquiat and Warhol to Kehinde Wiley and Mickalene Thomas. He has collected the likes of Helen Frankenthaler and Wendy Red Star as well, which again shows a range of the collection but also the wide-ranging story of American art. Obviously narrowing down his collection of nearly 14,000 works to 90 pivotal pieces is a challenge, but it begins to help shape a look at how Americans have collected their own over the past few decades, and perhaps set the stage to look at what the Schnitzer Foundation will be collecting in the future.