Fragmentary Visions: Grinnell College’s Kelekian Collection on View at Grinnell College Museum of Art through May 6

Jan 25, 2023

Glazed fragment with Leopard against Foliate Background
10th – 13th century, possibly Iran
Earthenware painted in underglaze blue, turquoise, and black
9.8 x 7.9 x 2 cm
Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection, Gift of Nanette Rodney Kelekian, 1985

Combat Between Two Horsemen from Firdowsi’s Shahnama (Book of Kings) Mid 14th – early 16th century, Central Asia. Polychrome, black ink, and gilding on paper 30.5 x 22.5 cm Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection, Gift of Nanette Rodney Kelekian, 1994

A new exhibition at the Grinnell College Museum of Art offers an opportunity to view some of the oldest works in the museum’s collection while celebrating student scholarship. Fragmentary Visions is curated by Exhibition Seminar students Marina Busby ’24, David Gales ’23, Melena Johnson ’23, and Lal Verda Karaoğlu ’25, taught by Assistant Professor Eiren Shea of the Art History Department at Grinnell College. The public is invited to attend an opening reception and gallery talk featuring the curators on Friday, February 3 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Dikran Kelekian (1868 – 1951) was an influential collector and dealer of ancient, medieval, and Islamic art. Born in Turkey of Armenian heritage, he established an art and antiquities business in Istanbul in the early 1890s with his brother Kevork. In 1893, he came to the United States as a commissioner for the Persian pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He and his brother later established shops in New York, Paris London, and Cairo. In addition to helping numerous influential Americans build their collections of Coptic, Early Christian, Gothic, and Classical art, Kelekian was an early champion of modern French painters.

Nanette Rodney Kelekian, granddaughter of Dikran Kelekian, began gifting portions of his collection to Grinnell College in 1984. She also gifted works from her grandfather’s collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walters Museum, and Harvard Art Museums. The gifts to Grinnell College preceded the establishment of a campus art museum in 1999. Since then, individual pieces have been included in exhibitions, but Fragmentary Visions is the most comprehensive display of Grinnell’s extensive Kelekian collection. 

The ceramics, manuscripts, and textiles on display are some of the oldest objects in the museum’s permanent collection, hailing from the Eastern Mediterranean, West Asia, and the greater Islamic world. This exhibition showcases fragments and everyday objects alongside art made for the elite, allowing the viewer to experience the spectrum of art collected by many museums, but rarely shown together. 

A catalog, featuring essays by each of the student curators and a foreword by President Anne Harris, will be available free of charge to museum visitors.

Shea says, “Fragmentary Visions is the first exhibition to showcase Grinnell College’s substantial Kelekian collection. The exciting work done by the student curators to highlight the role that collectors such as Kelekian played in the formation of the field of Islamic art in the United States is really important and adds to a growing body of scholarship on late 19th and early 20th century collecting practices. We are extremely proud of the exhibition and catalog and hope the Grinnell community will enjoy this introduction to this fascinating collection.”

Tapestry fragment Coptic period, 6th century, Egypt Tapestry, polychrome wool with undyed linen 20.3 x 94.6 cm Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection, Gift of Nanette Rodney Kelekian, 1985

Related programs

February 3, 4-5:30 p.m.

Opening Reception and Gallery Talk: Fragmentary Visions: Grinnell College’s Kelekian Collection

Assistant Professor of Art History Eiren Shea and Exhibition Seminar students Marina Busby ’24, David Gales ’23, Melena Johnson ’23, and Lal Verda Karaoğlu ’25 will speak about their exhibition, Fragmentary Visions: Grinnell College’s Kelekian Collection. Reception to follow.

February 21, 11 a.m.

20 Minutes@11: Fragmentary Visions with the Curators

Student curators Marina Busby ’24, David Gales ’23, Melena Johnson ’23, and Lal Verda Karaoğlu ’25 will explain the main themes of their show, which focuses on 19th and 20th century collecting practices, everyday objects, and the idea of “Islamic” art.

Information for visitors

Grinnell College Museum of Art, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, 1108 Park St., Grinnell. Information about the exhibition and programming available at: grinnell.edu/museum or call 641-269-4660.

The museum is open to the public and always free. Visitors may use the west (Park Street facing) or north (campus facing) doors to the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts. Masks are optional. Minors under age 18 need to be accompanied by an adult.

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Information about parking and accessibility is available on the college's website: grinnell.edu. Accommodation requests may be made to Conference Operations at 641-269-3235 or calendar@grinnell.edu.