Opening November 15, 2019, and marking Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson Jr.’s 80th birthday, exhibition spotlights little-known finds from the museum founder’s
7 decades of travel and acquisition
Selection of over 100 objects from around the world creates unique avenues
into understanding Micky, the Wolfsonian collection, and its collecting period (1850–1950)
For the first time since The Wolfsonian–Florida International University opened its doors to the public in 1995, the museum will honor the legacy of its founder, Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson, Jr., with an exhibition examining Wolfson’s life of collecting. A Universe of Things: Micky Wolfson Collects opens November 15, 2019, and brings together more than 100 objects—ranging from Wolfson’s initial purchase at age 12 to more recent Wolfsonian donations—that represent the scope of his collecting interests and The Wolfsonian’s world-class holdings of modern-age art and design.
Coinciding with Wolfson’s 80th birthday year, A Universe of Things features dozens of works that have never before been displayed, in addition to iconic pieces that are longtime visitor favorites of The Wolfsonian. Produced in tandem with the exhibition will be a companion book, Founder’s Choice (Scala Publishers), focusing on 37 of Wolfson’s selections from the collection paired with commentary that expands on his memories and perspective.
Rather than tracking Wolfson’s collecting activity chronologically, the show groups objects according to shared qualities. One set consists entirely of works made in 1939—the year of Wolfson’s birth, the New York World’s Fair, and the start of the Second World War. Other themes are informed by material (aluminum), medium (books), or subject (heroes and villains; women). With this curatorial approach, A Universe of Things invites guests to draw connections across time and cultures through the lens of design.
“The Wolfsonian collection reflects the passion of many generous donors, but Micky has always been the heart of the museum,” said director Tim Rodgers. “His gifts, personality, and philosophy shape what it means to be ‘Wolfsonian’ in endless ways, and I can’t think of a more appropriate time for our curators to share his rarely heard stories than this milestone birthday.”
Wolfson’s mantra—“What man makes, makes man.”—is at the center of the exhibition. Through its broad cross-section of modern material culture, A Universe of Things unearths the vast array of human pursuits, dreams, inventions, and follies that mark the 100 years between 1850 and 1950, The Wolfsonian’s collecting period. Highlights of the show are:
- Hotel room keys playfully pocketed by Wolfson on family vacations beginning in his childhood, creating a colorful array that summarizes a lifetime of travel;
- Samuel Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1875), Wolfson’s first official purchase at age 12;
- A Japanese decorative screen depicting a naval battle, shown alongside a sideboard by British designer E. W. Godwin, revealing the rich and complex cultural exchange between East and West in the 19th century;
- Communism: The New Faith for a New World, written in 1935 by the “Bad Bishop” William Montgomery Brown, an excommunicated Episcopal clergyman who preached the gospel of science and communism over religious adherence;
- A 1938 large-scale model of the Littorina—a train car in the Wolfsonian collection designed by FIAT for the Italian Fascist government—on loan from Wolfson’s other namesake museum, The Wolfsoniana, in Genoa, Italy;
- Taboo “Tijuana Bibles,” sexually explicit comic books illegally distributed in the 1930s and ’40s;
- A streamlined trophy for female pilots competing in the 1939 Miami All-American Air Maneuvers, expressing the new opportunities available to women due to advances in technology; and
- A bust of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis and Hotzi Notzi, a novelty pincushion satirizing Adolf Hitler, juxtaposing how artists depicted heroes and villains in the early 1940s.
“A Universe of Things mirrors Micky’s unrelenting enthusiasm for discovery,” said Lea Nickless, Wolfsonian research curator and co-organizer of the exhibition. “His curiosity and compelling worldview will inspire future generations of collectors.”
Co-curator Shoshana Resnikoff added: “These works do double duty, charting Micky’s collecting and telling their own stories. Whether propaganda, an appliance, or even a bicycle, each object is evidence of a movement, a maker, a user, and a culture.”
The Wolfsonian–FIU
1001 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.535.2622 | wolfsonian.org