Press release for Baird’s appointment as curator and exhibition invites, 1980s–90s
$150
Lot includes press release and two invitations.
Press release announcing Baird Jones’s appointment as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Paterson Museum, 1987. Typescript on paper, 8 1/2″ x 11″.
Announcement for “An Exhibition of Art by Kurt Vonnegut” at the Paterson Museum, 1997. Print on paper, 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″.
Announcement for “The Comic Vision” at the Paterson Museum, 1996. Print on paper, 5 1/2″ x 3 1/2″.
On his invitations, the name “Baird Jones” was always followed by the string of degrees—B.A., J.D., M.S.W., M.A.—that he earned at NYU and Columbia amid his other pursuits. Baird’s quest for legitimacy paid off in 1987, when he was appointed Curator of Contemporary Art at the Paterson (New Jersey) Museum. His “celebrity art” exhibitions would continue to appear there into the 2000s.
$200
The Paterson Museum’s press release touts Baird’s varied accomplishments as scholar, curator, artist, and critic.
Another sign of Baird’s prescience: Kurt Vonnegut’s drawings were recently collected in a monograph by Monacelli Press.
Baird’s celebrity art collection ranged from serious efforts to signature doodles.
