The Artist as Philanthropist: Artist-Endowed Foundations as a New Force in Cultural Philanthropy and the Emergence of Women Artists as Donors in this New Field

DIRECTOR’S DIALOGUE

The Artist as Philanthropist: Artist-Endowed Foundations as a New Force in Cultural
Philanthropy and the Emergence of Women Artists as Donors in this New Field
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Date: Thursday, October 23, 2014
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Bldg., 162 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ
Facility: Wheelchair Accessible
Free and Open to the Public
For Further Information: iwl.rutgers.edu
RSVP

Rutgers University Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL) and Institute for Women and Art
(IWA), in collaboration with The Aspen Institute’s National Study of Artist-Endowed
Foundations, present a panel discussion exploring the role of artist-endowed foundations in
cultural philanthropy and in the stewardship of America’s artistic heritage, with a particular
look at the growing number of foundations endowed by women artists. The panel discussion
highlights pioneering research documenting the rise in private foundations created in the US
by visual artists (aspeninstitute.org/psi/a-ef-report).

The Aspen Institute’s Study, the first research effort to examine this small but fast-growing
field, has documented more than 360 foundations, many created in the past two decades,
holding $3.5 billion in assets, including $2 billion in art and intellectual property. They
steward art collections and archives, operate study centers, contribute artwork to museums,
manage artist residency facilities, and conduct art education programs. Some focus solely
in the arts while others also address social issues, such as HIV/AIDS, environmental
conservation, animal welfare, and mental health. In 2010, artist-endowed foundations
expended $132 million for charitable purposes, including grants as well as costs to operate
scholarly, educational, and cultural programs directly.

With just one-quarter of all artist-endowed foundations having been created by women, this
new field in its current state reflects the longstanding lack of diversity in the upper reaches
of the art world. Growth is evident, however, so that a few widely recognized foundations,
such as those endowed by Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Georgia O’Keeffe, have been
joined by recent bequests, including those of Louise Bourgeois, Helen Frankenthaler,
Lenore Tawney, Dorothea Tanning and Joan Spero, among others. The forces shaping this
trend, and its potential impact on the field, are considered by the panel.

IWL Director Alison Bernstein moderates the discussion. The panelists are artist-endowed
foundation leaders Alejandro Anreus, President of the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Kathleen
Mangan, Executive Director of the Lenore Tawney Foundation, and Elizabeth Smith,
Executive Director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, along with Christine J. Vincent,
Study Director, The Aspen Institute’s National Study of Artist-Endowed Foundations. Alberta
Arthurs, Former Director of Arts and Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation, serves as
discussion respondent.

Sponsored by: Institute for Women and Art; Institute for Women’s Leadership; The Aspen
Institute’s National Study of Artist-Endowed Foundations. Co-sponsored by Mason Gross
School of the Arts – Visual Arts; Zimmerli Art Museum.