Late last year, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, announced that it had raised $103 million of the $125 million needed for its OMA/Shohei Shigematsu–designed expansion, thanks to a $42.5 million donation from investor and gold enthusiast Jeffrey Gundlach. Now it’s trumpeting news that the late, great Marisol, who died last year at the age of 85, donated her entire estate to the museum. The gift appears to be substantial. From the Albright-Knox:
Through the artist’s generosity, the museum is the recipient of more than 100 sculptures spanning the entirety of Marisol’s 60-year career, more than 150 works on paper, thousands of photographs and slides, and a small group of works by other artists Marisol had collected. The bequest also includes the artist’s archive, library, studies, tools, and New York loft apartment.
The apartment, which is located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, will be sold to help fund the expansion. (Which is a bit unfortunate: I would have loved a little Albright-Knox satellite location in New York City, but I digress.)
Why the Albright-Knox? According to the museum, Marisol felt an affinity for it since it was the first institution to acquire one of her works, The Generals, in 1962, and because she was close with various people involved with the museum. “The Albright-Knox accepts Marisol’s marvelous bequest with gratitude and a thrill of expectation,” the Albright-Knox’s chairman, said in a statement. “The museum has long sought to establish relationships with artists just starting their careers. Marisol’s generous gift shows how deeply she valued that relationship.”
Artists donating their estates in full to museums is rare but not unheard of. Scott Burton, for instance, gave his work to the Museum of Modern Art in New York upon his death in 1989 at the age of 50.
Once the Albright-Knox’s renovation is complete, around 2021, it will become the Buffalo Albright-Knox-Gundlach Art Museum. A gallery in the new building will bear Marisol’s name.