NEWSLETTER
100+ works from a landmark private collection on view at the Tang during its 25th anniversary, September 13–January 4, 2026
Saratoga Springs, NY (September 2, 2025) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces See It Now: Contemporary Art from the Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection, a sweeping exhibition that celebrates art and artists brought together over five decades by Ann Schapps Schaffer ’62 and Mel Schaffer. Featuring over one hundred artworks, See It Now highlights bold and incisive artworks that grapple with the complexities of contemporary life.
The exhibition foregrounds artists whose works probe questions of race, migration, loss, gender, belonging—issues at the center of today’s world. Drawing from the Schaffers’ renowned private collection—formed with a spirit of curiosity and a commitment to artists at pivotal moments—See It Now offers audiences a rare, in-depth opportunity to view works by artists who have shaped the last half-century of art.
Highlights include multiple works by Vik Muniz and Cindy Sherman, large-scale paintings by Jordan Casteel, Hugo McCloud, and Kehinde Wiley, a Nick Cave’s Soundsuit, as well as works by Robert Gober, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Jim Hodges, Deana Lawson, Wangechi Mutu, Kiki Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and many more.
“Ann and Mel have collected with empathy and curiosity—bringing together artists who explore identity, memory, and social justice with rigor and heart,” says Ian Berry, Dayton Director. “By placing these works in public view during our 25th-anniversary year, we’re inviting audiences to engage with art that can be messy and vulnerable, complex and contradictory, joyful and alive; works that continue to speak to the urgencies of the present.”
“We’ve always collected with curiosity,” says Ann Schapps Schaffer. “Your soul has to run through a collection. We don’t just hang art; the pieces have to speak to one another—about life and death, giving and taking, and how we live together now.”
See It Now, organized by Berry, is part of the Tang’s 25th anniversary celebration, which also includes the exhibitions Building Blocks, on view through December 7; All These Growing Things, August 23 – July 19, 2026; and Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes, Feb. 14 – July 26, 2026.
See It Now anchors public programs as well as an ongoing intergenerational oral-history project with artists and students in the Berry’s Art History seminar “The Artist Interview.”
Public Programs
- Friday, September 12, 3-8 pm: Tang Open House. Get a sneak peek of the new exhibition and celebrate the launch of the 25th anniversary fall events.
- Thursday, September 25, 6 pm: Whole Grain—Carrie Mae Weems Selects Exhibiting artist Carrie Mae Weems selects one of her works and another work for a special screening.
- Saturday, October 18, 4:30 pm: Tang 25! Fall Opening and 25th Anniversary Celebration
- Thursday, November 13, noon: Curator's Tour of See It Now: Contemporary Art from the Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection with Dayton Director Ian Berry
For updates and additional programs, visit tang.skidmore.edu.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Tang Museum, located on the Skidmore College campus at 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, New York, is open noon–5 pm Tuesday–Sunday, with extended hours until 9 pm on Thursdays. For more information, call 518-580-8080 or visit tang.skidmore.edu.
About Ann and Mel Schaffer
Ann Schapps Schaffer ’62 and Mel Schaffer have collected contemporary art for more than fifty years, often ahead of the curve in supporting young and emerging artists. Guided by curiosity rather than market trends, they seek work with a singular vision—art that engages, challenges, and reflects the complexity of our world. Longtime champions of the Tang, the Schaffers have gifted dozens of works to the Museum and helped shape its ethos of interdisciplinary learning. Their collection spans photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and conceptual practices by a diverse range of artists, with a through line of empathy and inquiry.
About Skidmore College
Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of about 2,700 students located in the dynamic town of Saratoga Springs, New York. Consistently ranked as a top liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, and more, Skidmore has also been recognized for its innovation, value, and sustainability efforts. Skidmore fosters academic and personal excellence—all driven by a belief that Creative Thought Matters. Its comprehensive array of opportunities encompasses more than 40 bachelor’s degree programs, including popular offerings in business, psychology, and the creative and performing arts; competitive NCAA Division III athletics; world-class facilities; and hands-on civic engagement and career development resources.
About the Tang Museum
The Tang Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. https://tang.skidmore.edu
###
Image caption: Ann Schapps Schaffer and Mel Schaffer, 2024, in their dining room. Photograph by Chris Mottalini. (Portrait of the collectors whose five-decade collection is on view in See It Now.)