BY KAREN BOSSICK

When Jordan D. Schnitzer's mother Arlene gave him his first art print in third grade, she could not have known she was planting a seed that would grow into the largest fine art print collection in the United States.

At 14, Schnitzer bought his first painting — a small oil by Portland, Ore., artist Louis Bunce — for $60 from his mother's gallery. Today his collection includes more than 22,000 works by some 1,500 artists.

And he’s been called “The Prince of Prints” by Max Hollein, CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, because the only other person on the planet with more prints is the King of England.

Now, Sun Valley residents and visitors can peruse a sampling of those works via a carefully curated selection from that extraordinary collection at the Sun Valley Museum of Art.

"Circa 1971: Works from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation" kicks off with an Opening Celebration from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 3 at the Sun Valley Museum of Art. It runs through Oct. 17, marking the museum's 55th anniversary with a look back at the year it all began.

Schnitzer will be attending the opening with his family.

"Circa 1971 may be one of the most creative exhibitions from the more than 180 exhibitions we have organized from our collection over the past 30 years," said Schnitzer, an ARTnews Top 200 art collector. "This exhibition takes us back in time to the thoughts, dreams, and challenges of that remarkable era."

The exhibition was born from a conversation between SVMoA Assistant Director and Curator Courtney Gilbert and Executive Director Jennifer Wells Green. The two had long admired the Schnitzer collection and its traveling exhibitions but knew the museum's intimate space could not accommodate them.

"Jennifer and I had known about his collection for a long time," Gilbert said. "They produce their own amazing exhibitions. We wondered about the possibility of borrowing one of their traveling exhibitions, but our space is very small and their shows require more space. So, we asked about curating something out of his collection."

Green came up with the idea of celebrating the museum's founding year. Gilbert was initially worried there might not be enough work from that narrow window, so she suggested broadening the lens slightly to 1970 through 1972.

"They had more than 800 works," Gilbert said. "So, I was wrong."

The two traveled to Portland to spend time with the collection. They printed out the full list and shared it with museum founder Glenn Janss, who responded with her own list of works and artists she felt should be included.

The result is a show that captures the dynamic artistic movements defining the era — the bold graphics of Pop Art, the perceptual experiments of Op Art, the austere elegance of Minimalism, the exacting detail of Photorealism, and the intellectual rigor of Conceptual Art.

The lineup reads like a who's who of 20th-century American art: Anni Albers, Larry Bell, Vija Celmins, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Louise Nevelson, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, Wayne Thiebaud, and Andy Warhol, among others.

"We've got some works that when people see them, they will be transported to that time period," Gilbert said.

Among the highlights are a set of three Andy Warhol flower screen prints stacked to the ceiling and Robert Indiana's iconic "Love" image. The show also pairs late-career modernists like Josef and Anni Albers with Pop artists, Conceptual artists, and Photorealists, creating a conversation across movements that defined the early 1970s.

"I've heard him speak about the works," Gilbert said of Schnitzer. "He's incredibly knowledgeable about each of the artists."

That knowledge runs deep. The West Coast businessman and philanthropist founded the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation 29 years ago with the mission of sharing his collection with the public.

The foundation has organized more than 180 exhibitions and loaned thousands of artworks to over 130 museums at no cost to the institutions. Schnitzer is the namesake of three museums — the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, at Portland State University and at Washington State University.

" 'Circa 1971' is a perfect way to mark our 55th anniversary by returning to a remarkable moment in American art and the artists who defined it," said Wells Green. "We're so grateful to Jordan and his family foundation for their generosity in sharing this facet of his collection with our community."

The exhibition also arrives at a moment of change for the museum itself. At a City Council meeting this week, a text amendment to turn the museum's building into a permanent SVMoA home passed its first reading unanimously. A second reading is expected next month. If the museum were already in its newer, bigger building, Gilbert noted, it could likely house one of Schnitzer's full traveling exhibitions.

Complementing the exhibition, the museum will present a series of public programs exploring the broader cultural landscape of the early 1970s.

The exhibition opens with a community street party on Friday, July 3, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. outside the museum in Ketchum, featuring DJ Jackrabbit Slim and art-making activities. The event is free and open to the entire community. Schnitzer will be attending the opening with his family.

Additional programs include:

Lecture: Mimi Avins: “The Small Screen Grows Up: How TV Reflected Social Change and Influenced American Culture in the 1970s and Beyond”

Thursday, July 16, 5:30 p.m.

The Museum, Ketchum

Free 

Evening Exhibition Tours

Thursdays, July 23, Aug. 20, Sept. 24, 5:30 p.m.

The Museum, Ketchum

Free; pre-registration is recommended

Art on Film: “The Mastermind”

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 5 p.m.

Merlin’s Magic Lantern, Ketchum

$10 member/$12 nonmember

Lecture: “Circa 1971: A Turning Point in Contemporary Art”

A Conversation with Kimberly Davis, Director of L.A. Louver Gallery

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 5:30 p.m.

The Museum, Ketchum

Free

Lecture: Henry Diltz: “Legends Through the Lens”

A Conversation with Henry Diltz, Legendary Rock Photographer

Thursday, Sept. 17, 5:30 p.m.

Sun Valley Opera House, Ketchum

“Circa 1971: Works from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” is made possible through generous support from SVMoA Visionary Guardians and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.