The Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York has received a $10 million gift from the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation. It is the largest donation in the institution’s history. The generous bequest follows a $5 million donation from the city of New York to help fund the museum’s $79 million renovation. When the Cooper-Hewitt reopens in the fall of 2014, it will have a new third-floor gallery, which will bear the Mandel family name, and 60% more exhibition space, enabling it to present a more significant portion of its collection as well as major design exhibitions.   

The Cooper-Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design. Located in the former home of steel tycoon, Andrew Carnegie, the museum has been closed since 2011 while the building and its surrounding gardens are expanded and restored.

Barbara Mandel joined Cooper-Hewitt’s board in 1997 and she has been a member of the museum’s executive committee since 1998.