Sidney Janis was born and raised in Buffalo and remained a close friend of the museum even after moving to New York, where he opened an art gallery in 1948. He and his gallery quickly rose to prominence through shows of the emerging leaders of Abstract Expressionism, as well as important European artists. Later, Janis shifted his focus to become a major figure in Pop art. In 1967, he donated over one hundred works of art from his personal collection to The Museum of Modern Art. Many of these traveled to Buffalo for this special exhibition.