It has been a great week for two Boston area museums. On Monday, May 21st The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) announced that one of the museum’s trustees, Saundra Lane, would bequeath 6,000 photographs, including works from Charles Sheeler, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams in addition to 100 works on paper and 25 paintings.
The donation is estimated to be in excess of $100,000,000
Lane’s generous donation is one of the “largest and most significant gifts in it’s history” according to the press release. The gift significantly increases the number of objects in the MFA’s photography collection from 9,000 to 15,000.
Iris Apfel, the 90 year old fashion icon best known for her signature owl eye glasses and chunky jewelry will give more than 600 pieces of clothing and accessories to the Peabody Essex Museum (P.E.M.) in Salem, MA. Why is this New Yorker looking to the P.E.M. and not the MOMA which premiered her exhibition Rare Bird in 2005? Apparently that tour which also stopped at the P.E.M. impressed her so much that she decided this is where she’d like her collection to reside. In addition to her donation, her husband will also bequeath an undisclosed sum to help build the museum’s new fashion gallery.
Fashionistas take note
The P.E.M. is best known for their maritime art collection. Apfel’s collection which also include articles from world famous designers including Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior, and Alexander McQueen will be included in the museum’s new fashion gallery and is expected to hopefully spur other fashion donations for the museum.
BosGuy 