The Indiana University Art Museum announced today that it has received a gift of $15 million and collection of 100 works on paper from philanthropists Sidney and Lois Eskenazi. The museum will henceforth adopt the names of its donors in recognition of the gift, the largest one the institution has received since its founding in 1941.
The IU Art Museum will also receive a further $20 million thanks to a university match program. These combined funds will be used to help renovate the museum’s building, which was originally designed in 1982 by I. M. Pei, the Chinese architect responsible for the Pyramid at the Lourve. The museum is also planning a renovation, set to be completed in 2020.
Thanks to the the Eskenazi’s contribution, the museum now owns 34 prints by Joan Miró, as well as works on paper by Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Jean Dubuffet, Salvador Dalí, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, among others.
“This is a tremendous moment for the art museum, and we couldn’t be more grateful to Sidney and Lois for this incredible leadership gift toward the renovation,” museum director David A. Brenneman said in a statement. “It seems only fitting that we are embarking on this exciting new chapter with the renaming and renovation as we celebrate the museum’s 75th anniversary this year. The Eskenazi Museum is an incredible resource for the students, faculty, and the Bloomington and Indianapolis communities, and we will continue to look for ways to engage new audiences and foster the interdisciplinary collaborations made possible by being a part of Indiana University. We look forward to sharing more details about this exciting project later this year.”