Famous Faces Coming to USD

A new exhibit at the University of San Diego offers a fascinating look at the portrait as an art form from the 16th century to the present and as a vehicle for fame and power throughout history.

“The Famous Face: Portraiture in Prints from Durer to Warhol” is a collection of more than 50 prints of some of history’s most famous figures ranging from Father Juniper Serra and Pocahontas to Mao Tse Tung, John F. Kennedy and Isadora Duncan by artists including Albrecht Durer and Andy Warhol. Other artists featured in the exhibit include Paul Cezanne, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso.

The exhibit marks the opening of the Robert and Karen Hoehn Family Galleries in Founders Hall at USD. A generous gift from the Hoehn family has created an endowment to support the current and future exhibits and renovate two USD galleries.

The public is invited to an opening night lecture Thursday, March 1 by Malcolm Warner, guest curator for the exhibit and senior curator at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The lecture is at 5 p.m. in USD’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. A dedication of the new galleries in USD’s Founders Hall and a reception follows the talk. There is no charge for the events.

 “No form of art enters more into the workings of society than portraiture,” says  Warner. “Portraits celebrate and commemorate, flatter and promote; they create the image of a person in the eyes of the world and can be powerful propaganda.”

The 57 prints, some of which are rarely seen in public, are on loan to the university from the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, University of California, Los Angeles. The exhibition includes engravings, etchings, lithographs and screen prints. In connection with the exhibit, the university is sponsoring a portrait competition for USD students. Winning portraits will be on view near the art department in Camino Hall.

Robert Hoehn, chair of the university’s board of trustees, and his family, have previously given the university major works including Francisco Goya’s “Disasters of War,” Georges Rouault’s “Miserere” and Jacques Callot’s “Miseries of War” in addition to a stunning collection of Rembrandt etchings and several 20th century prints. All of these works will soon be available for viewing in the Hoehn Print Study Room in Founders Hall, adjacent to the galleries.

“The university is pleased to dedicate the Robert and Karen Hoehn Family Galleries and the Hoehn Print Study Room in honor of the remarkable commitment, generosity and vision of Robert Hoehn for whom we are extremely grateful,” says USD President Mary E. Lyons.

Regular hours for the exhibit begin Friday, March 2 and will be noon to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays and noon to 6 p.m., Thursdays. Admission is free. The exhibit will be closed on school holidays. For more information call (619) 260-4261. Visit www.sandiego.edu.

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The establishment of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies will bring the University’s total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Leadership and Education Sciences, Law, and Nursing and Health Science.

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About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.