January 20 – March 24, 2012

It is to our community’s continued benefit that the Swope Art Museum’s first director, John Rogers Cox, had a good eye and steady hand for selecting artists who would become “household names,” and his choices gird the foundation of the Swope’s outstanding collection. But it takes more than girders to build a strong house.

Many art historians and connoisseurs who visit the museum express astonishment at the variety and caliber of the Swope’s holdings. And yet, most people still refer to the Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Andy Warhol and Grant Wood when discussing the collection.  The UNusual Suspects aims a spotlight at some of the “brick and mortar” artists who have seemingly taken a quiet path into the art history books.