Fun, 1960–61. Photo: Courtesy of the Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas; Artwork: © Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine
Gene Swenson: Retrospective for a Critic celebrated the life and career of Swenson, an art critic and pioneering champion of the Pop art movement who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1969. Swenson played a crucial early role in the career and recognition of Indiana, writing about his work for ARTnews and purchasing a painting, Fun (1960–61) after seeing it in Premiums: Stephen Durkee, Robert Indiana, and Richard Smith, one of the first New York City exhibitions in which Indiana was included.
Swenson's retrospective included Indiana's painting Louisiana (1965) alongside Fun and numerous works on paper by the artist.