Remai art gallery receives 23 Picasso works

One of 23 Pablo Picasso pieces donated to the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.

The Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan added to its Pablo Picasso collection Wednesday.

Saskatchewan-born philanthropist Frederick Mulder donated 23 Picasso works including ceramic plates, tiles, vessels, vases and sculptures to the Saskatoon gallery.

The works, valued at $500,000, add to the collection of 406 Picasso linocuts donated two years ago.

The linocuts, valued at $20 million, were assembled by Mulder before the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation donated the pieces to the gallery.

Mulder, who now lives in the U.K., is the director of Frederick Mulder Ltd., an art firm dealing in European printmaking from 1470 to 1970. He grew up in Eston, Sask.

“I loved growing up in Saskatchewan, and I count myself lucky to be able to give something back to the city and the province that gave so much to me,” Mulder said.

The collection “will serve as a wonderful bridge between the highly important Picasso linocut collection in the Remai Modern and the tradition of Saskatchewan art ceramics.”

The Remai Modern Art Gallery is scheduled to open in 2016.