Corporation raises eyebrows and profile through funding for the arts.

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 1996--An unpretentious, low-key, old-line company that earns superior profits from prosaic products.

That's how one stock analyst described Hunt Manufacturing Co., a Philadelphia-based company whose sales of office, art/craft and presentation graphics surpassed the $300 million mark last year.

From a purely financial point of view, the description may be true but clearly not in Hunt's corporate philanthropy. In its role as benefactor to the arts and cultural organizations, it is anything but old-line.

Hunt's dramatically different style of corporate giving is apparent in an exhibition titled "New Art on Paper 2, Acquired with Funds from the Hunt Manufacturing Co." The exhibition, which is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from March 17 to May 26, presents new works by 35 artists, made and acquired between 1989 and 1995.

It is the second exhibition to showcase the Museum's unique collection of contemporary works on paper made possible by an equally unique collaboration between business and the arts.

Since 1979, the Hunt Manufacturing Co. Foundation has provided funding for the Philadelphia Museum of Art to build a collection of contemporary works of art on paper.

"Usually businesses fund exhibitions or other temporary events. Funding acquisitions or a permanent collection is highly unusual," said Innis Shoemaker, the Museum's senior curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs. "New Art on Paper 2" was organized by Shoemaker and Martha Chahroudi, the Museum's associate curator of photographs.

Hunt asked the Museum to use the money to collect "adventurous and risk-taking works." Otherwise, the Museum has full autonomy to buy high-quality prints, drawings and photographs by artists whose reputations are on the cutting edge of critical acclaim.

As a result of 16 years of judicious collecting, the Museum now owns a dynamic collection of works on paper, with a rich variety of concepts, materials, subjects and styles by more than 75 American and European artists.

According to Robert B. Fritsch, president and chief executive officer of Hunt, the company was entirely willing to risk controversy. "Growth originates when an institution or business is willing to move in a new direction, capture a fresh perspective or engage in a spirit of adventure.

"In art, as in business, the real challenge lies in supporting the adventurous, the controversial and the innovative," he said.

Hunt's support of risk-taking art is a reflection of its corporate philosophy. "The fundamental belief that drives us as a business is that the risk of taking action and the freedom to sometimes fail are the necessary costs of making progress," said Fritsch.

The company's growth from a small, family-owned manufacturer of Speedball(R) pen nibs, BOSTON(R) brand pencil sharpeners and other office supplies to a publicly traded company that manufactures more than 10,000 items is the result of a strategic blending of acquisitions and new product development.

"The Museum is extraordinarily lucky to have in Hunt Manufacturing Co. an enlightened partner that actively encourages seeking fresh approaches to the making of art," said Anne d'Harnoncourt, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Their support has enabled us to assemble bold and experimental works on paper that Philadelphia audiences might otherwise never see."

"New Art on Paper 2" exemplifies the overlapping of media in contemporary art on paper and the artists' use of new technologies, such as computer-generated art. Also included are works that use more traditional mediums in new and innovative ways. The exhibition, like the previous one, promises to generate rave reviews and raised eyebrows.

The artists represented in the exhibition come from a wide variety of backgrounds, reflected in their approach to art. The work of Ray Pettibon, who has earned cult status in Southern California for his covers of rock music albums, illustrates the diversity. He produces simple pen-and-wash drawings with texts that do not necessarily relate to the images they accompany.

William Wegman, who turned from painting and video to his celebrated series of staged photographs of his dogs, Man Ray and Fay Ray, is among those artists who represent photography, the newest addition to the Hunt Collection.

The inclusion of artists who use computers in their work is also new. For example, Kathy Grove uses computer manipulation of well-known imagery to challenge historical attitudes toward gender.

"Largely because of the Hunt Collection, the Museum's print room has become a major resource in Philadelphia for the study of contemporary innovative trends on paper. Also due to Hunt's support, the Museum's holdings in this field now rank among the top in general art museums around the country," said Senior Curator Shoemaker.

Since 1955, the Hunt Manufacturing Co. Foundation has been supporting initiatives primarily in arts and culture, services to children, education and training, selected civic leadership and related programs in locations where the company has a presence.

The Hunt Manufacturing Co. Collection was first exhibited in 1988 and included the work of 46 contemporary artists. Last year, the Foundation gave over $330,000 to 50 charitable organizations, including arts and cultural groups.

CONTACT: Hunt Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia

Judy Mierop, 215/841-2335