Displaying items by tag: linde family wing for contemporary art

Malcolm Rogers, the Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), announced to the museum’s board of trustees that he will retire as soon as a successor is hired to fill the position. Rogers has been with the MFA for nearly 20 years and spearheaded the museum’s various expansions and renovations and oversaw a number of acclaimed exhibitions. Rogers said, “My 20 years have been such an invigorating time at the MFA, as we worked to reinforce the Museum’s position as a vital community resource and transform it into a global destination for arts and culture. I would like to thank the Museum’s Board of Trustees, staff, members and volunteers, as well as the millions of people from Boston and around the world who consider the MFA a special part of their lives and have visited during my two decades here.”

Since his appointment in 1994, Rogers has grown the MFA’s comprehensive collection, enhanced arts education programs, and beautified the museum’s campus. In 2008, Rogers reopened the MFA’s historic Fenway entrance, which had been closed for nearly 30 years. In 2010, the new Art of the Americas Wing opened at the museum -- a milestone achievement for Rogers, the MFA and Boston. Rogers spearheaded a campaign that raised $504 million, of which $345 million funded new galleries and conservation labs. In 2011, a wing of the museum was renovated and reopened as the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, which features 10 new galleries, classrooms, and a variety of public spaces. Currently, gallery renovations are underway in the MFA’s George D. and Margo Behrakis Wing for Art of the Ancient World. Works acquired during Rogers’ tenure include Edgar Degas' “Duchessa di Montejasi with Her Daughters, Elena and Camilla,” Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Blue, Yellow, and Red,” and Ellsworth Kelly’s “Blue Green Yellow Orange Red.”

The MFA will celebrate Rogers’ 20th anniversary this fall with a series of events including lectures, community programs, and a gala, which will be held on September 6.

Renowned art collector, Daphne Farago, announced that she will donate 161 works from her stunning collection to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A longtime supporter of the MFA, Farago’s contribution is the largest gift of contemporary craft the museum has ever received and will greatly improve a once-lacking part of the collection.

Farago’s gift features works from the 20^th and 21^st centuries by artists such as Dale Chihuly (b. 1941), Sam Maloof (1916-2009), and John Cederquist (b. 1946). The pieces range from works of fiber, ceramics, glass, woodcarvings, and metal to furniture, jewelry, basketry, and folk art. The newly acquired works, man of which have remained out of public view until now, will be exhibited in the museum’s Farago Gallery beginning in August 2013.

This is the third major donation from Farago and her late husband, Peter to the MFA; their contributions total $2.5 million to $5 million in art and money, which prompted the museum to open the Farago Gallery in September 2011 as part of the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art. Edward Saywell, Chair of the Linde Family Wing, said, “Although the MFA has a distinguished history of collecting and exhibiting contemporary craft, this gift broadens and deepens our holdings in truly significant ways. The gift will be a touchstone for the collection and will be a remarkable legacy.”