"Champagne" by Stephen Basso (NY, b. 1953), oil on canvas, signed, dated 2017 and titled on back, framed - 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" 
 
One of the very few living artists in the collection.
 
From the artist's own bio: A Brooklyn native, much of Basso's wildly imaginative artwork was inspired by travels to the Caribbean and especially Mexico, combining these influences with a New York sensibility. By and large, Basso is self-taught. After initially attending the School of Visual Arts for illustration, he realized painting was his true calling. Seeking emotional honesty he has looked to the work of several mentors, notably Max Beckmann Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Francisco Goya, Puala Rego, Marsden Hartley, Phillip Evergood, and Albert Pinkham Ryder... artists who speak to the human condition.