There are many signs that the art world has reached the end of an era, and on Friday, September 19, the death of art customer and philanthropist Agnes Gund is the clearest. Her death marks the departure of a whole loyal collector, making the industry struggle with who will step into its position and maintain a massive and clumsy system.
As reported by The New York Times, Gund died at the age of 87. Although her daughter, Catherine Gund, confirmed her death, has not been disclosed.
Gund is a relentless supporter of art and culture, one of the most influential American customers in the past half century (even has a place in our list of art powers for 2023). As president of the Museum of Modern Art, who has been president for more than 11 years, she has played a transformative role in expanding the museum’s coverage and collection, directly helping to raise funds that made its recent expansion possible.
She sits on numerous boards, supporting generations of artists and advocating the arts as a tool for educational, equitable and systematic change. She reportedly gave away two-thirds of her assets every year to sustain cultural life in New York and was a fixture on the Galas that included the El Museo del Barrio, Youngarts, the Kitchen and the MOMA PS1 where she saw her this summer.
Her collection includes some of the greatest names from the past century – artists not only support but also personally recognize them. The masterpieces of Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Yayoi Kusama and Louise Bourgeois (and the list appears) form part of the encyclopedia series that covers a broad breadth of media art and alternatives for contemporary art.
Gund has donated hundreds of works to MoMA, including an exhibition of the exhibition “Studio Tive: Gifts from Agnes Gund”, showing about 50 of her over 800 works. Overall, over 900 artworks in her collection have been given or promised to public institutions across the country. As for what’s left, which auction houses will secure this trophy estate.
She is also a long-time advocate of art education and social justice. In 1977, she founded “A School Studio,” an innovative program that places professional artists in New York public schools, inspiring thousands of children. She expanded her civic influence by serving on the Arts Council of the New York State Legislature and serving as chairman of the City’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs.
In 2017, she sold her beloved Roy Lichtenstein masterpiece Hedge fund investor Steven Cohen launched art for justice for $165 million, a six-year fund catalyzed for mass incarceration of racial inequality. The fund sunset in 2023 after allocating more than $127 million in grants. Justice Project Director Art Art told observers at the time that “Agnes is not done yet,” noting that Gund’s growing focus on reproductive rights and her enduring focus on the state of the world.
In November 2023, she sold another Lichtenstein to the Groundswell Fund, which advocates reproductive rights, and gave Michigan reproductive freedom to all voting measures. When asked if Gund would continue to be separated from charity, Huang commented: “She would say that there are fewer artworks sold.” “But she will continue to use everything she has.”
Who is Agnes Gund?
Agnes Gund was born on August 13, 1938 in Cleveland. Her father, George Gund II, built a fortune in real estate, brewing and investment and served as president of Cleveland Trust, Ohio’s largest bank. After his death in 1966, she inherited a substantial trust and soon purchased the sculpture of Henry Moore, thus starting a collection of about 2,000 works.
Her passion for art began in childhood, visited the Cleveland Museum of Art and deepened her at Miss Farmington, Connecticut, school, where she attended after her mother died in 1954. lifestyle Magazine in 2010.
Gund graduated from Connecticut Women’s College (now Connecticut College) in 1960 and received his history degree. Three years later, she married Albrecht “Brec” Saalfield, a private school teacher and heir to Saalfield Publishing Company. The marriage ended in divorce and had a second marriage with lawyer and teacher Daniel Shapiro. She has four children with Saalfield – Catherine, David, Anna and Jessica, her brothers Gordon and Geoffrey Gund, her sister, theater producer Louise Gund and 12 grandson brothers.
The death of Agnes Gund left a profound gap in the art world in New York and beyond, thus raising questions about who will advance the work of her generation and ensure the future of cultural sponsorship.
