The Imagery Estate Winery Collection, generously donated to SSU in 2015 by the Benziger Family Winery, includes more than 400 paintings, works on paper, and multimedia pieces. The origin of the collection was a partnership between Joe Benziger of the Benziger family, and Bob Nugent, a well-known regional artist and former professor of art at Sonoma State. In the early 1980s, Benziger and Nugent collaborated to produce a series of wine labels designed by contemporary artists for the Benziger’s Imagery Estate Winery. Over more than three decades, several hundred artists created art for Imagery labels. Eclectic by design, the collection contains works by nationally and internationally known artists. It also includes art by many Sonoma County artists, who of course share a special knowledge of and love for the local region, its wine, and its art.
