Lost For More Than Four Decades, Elizabeth Murray’s Bob Returns To Public View At The Nasher Museum Of Art At Duke University

Newly Conserved Painting, First Shown At Paula Cooper Gallery In 1978, Returns To The Research Triangle Where It Spent Decades Hidden From Public View

DURHAM, NC - After more than four decades, a major early painting by acclaimed American artist Elizabeth Murray has returned to public view in the Research Triangle. Bob (1977), a boldly experimental work that helped point toward the shaped canvases for which Murray became known, is now back on view at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University following an extensive conservation process.

First exhibited at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in 1978, Bob was subsequently purchased by Burroughs Wellcome Fund and installed at the company's headquarters in Research Triangle Park. The large, shaped canvas remained there for more than four decades, mostly hidden from public view, before being rediscovered after United Therapeutics Corporation moved into the former campus. The Nasher acquired the painting in 2021.

The painting's return follows more than a year of specialized conservation, supported in part by a $100,000 grant from Bank of America . Conservators addressed severe cracking and other condition issues, fitted the work with a new stretcher, and carried out treatment to prepare it for exhibition.

"Bob is a major work by Murray from a period that was so crucial to her development," said Marshall N. Price, Chief Curator and Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum. "It preceded the shaped canvases that she's probably best known for, but Bob also has the hallmarks of a post-Minimal language she was developing in the mid and late 1970s."

The painting's significance was also recognized at the moment of its rediscovery in 2021, when Jason Andrew, then director of the Estate of Elizabeth Murray, encountered the work at the former Burroughs Wellcome campus.

"It was a thrill to be the one who rediscovered this historic work by Elizabeth Murray, a painting literally rescued from the wreckage of Paul Rudolph's Burroughs Wellcome building in Raleigh, where it had hung in relative obscurity for four decades," said Jason Andrew, Founding Partner at Artist Estate Studio LLC and former director of the Estate of Elizabeth Murray. "After careful inspection of the painting on site in January 2021, I immediately confirmed its importance and began the exhilarating journey of advocating for its recovery. My research told the story that helped further its restoration and its dramatic return to public view at the Nasher Museum of Art. Painted in 1977, Bob is the second largest painting ever created by Elizabeth Murray, and because of these efforts, we now have an important key to unlock an early chapter of the artist's life."

Bob exemplifies the artist's experimentation with abstraction, color, and the physical boundaries of painting. Its return to public view offers audiences an opportunity to encounter an important work from a pivotal period in Murray's career-and to see a painting that spent decades just a few miles from the Nasher before its unexpected rediscovery.

Bob is now on view at the Nasher Museum.

The Nasher is also developing a new short film documenting the painting's remarkable journey, from its 1978 exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery through its decades out of public view, rediscovery, conservation and return to the museum.

About the Nasher Museum of Art

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is a leading center for the arts in Durham, North Carolina, and a vital resource for both the Duke campus and the surrounding region. Designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly, the 65,000-square-foot museum has organized more than 125 cutting-edge exhibitions since its opening in 2005, many of which have traveled nationally and internationally. With a strong commitment to contemporary art, the Nasher's collection emphasizes work by artists who have been historically underrepresented, reflecting its mission to shape a more inclusive art historical narrative. Deeply integrated into Duke's academic life, the museum fosters interdisciplinary research, supports innovative teaching, and engages students and faculty in critical dialogue. The Nasher also welcomes broader audiences through vibrant community and K-12 programs, and has offered free admission to all visitors since 2022, thanks to the generosity of Jennifer McCracken New and Jason New. To date, more than 1.6 million people have experienced the museum's exhibitions and programs. Guests can enjoy local fare at the Nasher Museum Café and shop art-inspired gifts at Parker & Otis. Learn more at nasher.duke.edu .

For more information on the Nasher, please contact:

Allison Elbl , Alexa Price , and Dakota Rosen