In 1987, Wolf Kahn began collecting Giorgio Morandi etchings, eventually amassing almost a dozen works, several of which he displayed in his New York City studio. Kahn was intrigued by the way Morandi created beauty from almost monochromatic tonal studies. He also admired how his still lifes brought each varied element together into a cohesive whole greater than the sum of its parts. Kahn was invited to visit Morandi in Bologna while he was in Italy as a young man, but was too self-conscious to accept and later regretted not pursuing the opportunity. He later reflected, “Of all the contemporary Italian artists, Morandi was most important to me, the only one who convinced me he knew the Italy I loved.”