Miles and Shirley Fiterman held a lifelong and deeply shared affinity for fine art. Encompassing the work of such influential figures as Calder, Picasso, Warhol, Johns, Lichtenstein and Miró, the Fiterman Collection was built on personal scholarship, visual delight, and the ineffable connection between artist and patron. In assembling their striking collection of fine art, Miles and Shirley Fiterman sought to engage with the very best in creative thinking – a fount of inspiration that informed their lives.
Andy Warhol, {Miles Fiterman}, 1975. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol, {Shirley Fiterman}, 1976. © 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
The Fiterman Collection evolved into an impressive assemblage of Modern, Latin American, Post-War, and Contemporary art. Early proponents of movements such as Pop Art, Miles and Shirley Fiterman firmly believed in the role of artists as challengers and illuminators of the human condition. At the Fiterman’s residences in Minneapolis and Palm Beach, painting, sculpture and editions by some of the twentieth century’s leading creative minds took center stage.
What was so remarkable about the Fitermans were the extroadinary relationships they maintained with the artists they collected, the dealers with whom they worked, and the museum directors and curators who were part of their lives.
Miles and Shirely Fiterman believed in sharing with others in ways both large and small--a combination of leadership and financial support that became a model of cultural philanthropy. In Minneapolis, the Fitermans founded the Associates of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Crying Girl, porcelain enamel on steel. 46 x 46 in. (116.8 x 116.8 cm.) Estimate: $7,000,000-9,000,000. This work is offered in The Artist’s Muse: A Curated Evening Sale on 9 November at Christie’s in New York
At the Walker Art Center, the collectors pledged longtime financial support and leadership and gifted or facilitated the purchase of some seventy pieces, including Claes Oldenburg’s sculpture Geometric Mouse-Scale A.” The couple were also benefactors and board members of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Tel Aviv Museum. At the Minneapolis Institute of Art they established the Miles and Shirley Fiterman Gallery.
Alongside her family, Shirley Fiterman continues the mission in fine art and philanthropy she wholeheartedly built with her husband. Through unwavering dedication to the art and ideas, Miles and Shirley Fiterman provided a tremendous example to future generations of American collectors and benefactors. Alongside outstanding achievements in education, medicine, and culture, the Fiterman collection stands as their exceptional, inspiring legacy.