Feature Stories Campus Events All Stories

Fit to a T: Honoring Cy Twombly

Two young alumni of Washington and Lee recently paid their respects to the late Cy Twombly ’53 in a most appropriate way — by seeing his art in person at two of the world’s great museums.

Two days after Cy’s July 5 death, siblings Matt Null (Class of 2006) and Andrea Null (Class of 2010) began a family trip to European museums. The first stop was the Tate Modern, in London, which remembered the Lexington-born artist in front of his three paintings titled Bacchus, Psilax, Mainomenos” with what Matt calls “an elegant memorial to the artist: a simple bowl of white roses. The Tate was busy with people coming to pay tribute. Pretty good for a boy from Lexington.”

Next stop was Paris and the Louvre, which houses Cy’s “The Ceiling” in the Salle des Bronzes. We blogged about that historic installation in March 2010. “The blue composition is a stunning complement to the room,” says Matt.

Let Matt explain the photo of the siblings, which his mother snapped: “I know you usually aren’t supposed to take pictures in museums, but the Louvre allows non-flash photography (for private, noncommercial purposes) in their permanent collections.”

We’re glad the Nulls didn’t break any rules, and we’re glad they shared their pilgrimage to the art of a fellow alum.

If you know any W&L alumni who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile.