USask alumnus enhances university’s Picasso print collection

Honoured USask alumnus and celebrated philanthropist Dr. Frederick Mulder (PhD) has given the university a trio of prints to add to its campus collection of six Picasso pieces that he donated back in 2012, making it the largest university collection of Picasso linocuts.

“We are delighted and truly honoured to receive these remarkable Picasso prints from Dr. Mulder, providing another generous contribution from one of the most celebrated members of the university’s alumni family,” said USask President Peter Stoicheff. “These three pieces join the six Picasso linocuts donated by Dr. Mulder in 2012, and greatly enhance the University of Saskatchewan art collection and will be enjoyed by generations of students, staff, faculty and community members. This generosity is another example of Dr. Mulder’s wonderful work throughout his career, not only as an internationally renowned art dealer, but as a philanthropist.”

Mulder’s new donations to his alma mater are three more prized Picasso prints made between 1931 and 1955:
– Harpy with Head of a Bull, and Four Little Girls on a Tower Surmounted by a Black Flag (Etching on paper, from the Vollard Suite, 1931)
– Profile of Jacqueline with a Scarf (Linocut on paper, 1955)
– Balzac (Lithograph on paper, 1952)

Raised in Eston, Sask., Mulder earned his first degree (Bachelor of Arts, English) at USask in 1964. Mulder went on to study in the United States at Brown University where he earned a master’s degree and PhD in philosophy, completing his Brown dissertation at Oxford University. He has lived in England since 1968 and has become a pillar of the art world. However, he has never forgotten his roots and his pride in his home province of Saskatchewan, the city of Saskatoon, and USask.

“I have a very soft spot for Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon in particular,” said Mulder. “This is where I did my first degree and it’s wonderful to come back. I have known several of the (USask) presidents and it’s wonderful to come back and see some of the (Picasso linocuts) that I have given before and have a chance now to make another presentation. So it’s very special to me.”

In addition to presenting his latest gifts to the university, Mulder also delivered the annual Mendel International Lecture titled “A Kid from the Prairies: how Remai Modern came to have the world’s greatest collection of Picasso linocuts, and other tales” in a sold-out presentation at the Remai Modern on Sunday, Sept. 29. Mulder and his company colleague Anne-Françoise Gavanon also took part in printmaking gatherings on the USask campus and at the Remai, home to the largest collection of Picasso

linocuts in the world, a collection of 406 works assembled by Mulder in the Remai Modern collection.

“I quite like the fact that Saskatchewan is a slightly improbable place for a collection of this importance. I just think that’s rather cool,” said Mulder. “So it’s been really wonderful to have it end up here ... In terms of historical value, it is the finest collection of Picasso linocuts in the world, the most extensive, and always will be.”

One of the world’s leading experts on the printmaking of Picasso, Mulder is the director of Frederick Mulder Ltd., his private art company that specializes in European printmaking from 1470 to 1970. Mulder is also a global philanthropist, making international charitable donations as the chair of the Frederick Mulder Foundation. He is also the founder of The Funding Network, which supports a wide range of progressive social change projects in 24 countries.

Mulder was awarded the Beacon Fellowship Special Judges’ Prize in 2004 for his “contribution to pioneering innovative approaches in the field of philanthropy” and was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by the Queen in 2012. Mulder was also honoured by his alma mater at USask in 2017 when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.

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For media inquiries, contact:

Victoria Dinh
USask Media Relations
306-966-5487
victoria.dinh@usask.ca