The Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College has received a major gift from Bob Budin of 225 works by the important twentieth-century photographer and humanitarian Milton Rogovin, who lives in Buffalo.



Ted Pietrzak, executive director of the Burchfield-Penney, said, "This collection, which is a retrospective of Rogovin's prolific career, is among the most important gifts the museum has received. It elevates our already impressive photography collection to national importance. This collection will be a permanent legacy to a Buffalonian who is one of America's greatest photographers. We are grateful to Bob Budin for his generosity."



Bob Budin, who is chair of the museum's board of trustees, noted, "The Burchfield-Penney is a perfect showplace for Rogovin's body of work. It is fitting that the Museum for Western New York Arts be the home for this collection, which I believe will be an invaluable asset to the Western New York community."



HealthNow New York Inc., parent company of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of WNY, has provided a $31,000 grant to frame and document the collection. Dr. Thomas P. Hartnett, president and CEO, said, "We at Blue Cross & Blue Shield are very excited about the lasting contribution that Mr. Budin has made to the community with this gift, and we are proud to play a part. Milton Rogovin and his life's work are a treasure for Western New York and beyond."



Milton Rogovin was born in 1909 in New York and moved to Buffalo in 1938. He is respected internationally as one of America's finest social documentary photographers.

Rogovin's work has been compared to Lewis Hine's early twentieth century photography in its directness and underlying compassion. The artist has been recognized for his work through awards including the 2000 New York State Governor's Arts Council Award, publications, exhibitions, and acquisitions made by many of the country's major museums and arts institutions.



Among many other prestigious institutions, Rogovin's work is owned by the Library of Congress, which holds 1,500 photographs and negatives (the acquisition marked the first time since 1970 that a living photographer's work was accepted into the Library of Congress collection) and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Santa Monica, which purchased 83 photographs in 1997.



The Rogovin photography collection includes portraits of people from around the world, people working at their jobs and relaxing at home, in locations as far away as coal mines in China and as close as neighborhoods in Buffalo. The poignant Triptych Series chronicles families living on Buffalo's Lower West Side over several decades, providing visible evidence of changes affecting older and younger generations.



Photographs from the Working People series include images of steelworkers from Buffalo companies that have since closed. Over the course of his career Milton Rogovin traveled around the world taking portraits of miners in Appalachia, Chile, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, and Zimbabwe. Examples of these portraits are represented in the gift.



Nancy Weekly, head of collections and the Charles Cary Rumsey Curator at the Burchfield-Penney, said, "This is a very significant collection, one that I am personally proud to oversee because I have worked closely with Milton Rogovin for the past twenty years. The Burchfield-Penney Art Center presented two major solo exhibitions of his photographs: Working People in 1982 and Triptychs: Buffalo's Lower West Side Revisited in 1993, as well as a smaller exhibition about mothers, fathers, and children in 1998. Having such an extensive survey of this internationally respected photographer'swork will enable the museum to represent the visual legacy of one of America's great humanitarians."



Planning and fundraising are underway for anantime, selected photographs will be incorporated into upcoming exhibitions.



Images of works in the collection, interviews with the artist or museum staff, and a list of pieces in the collection are available by request.