Displaying items by tag: stefan edlis

On December 13 the Art Institute of Chicago unveils 44 contemporary works donated by collecting titans Gael Neeson and Stefan Edlis. The largest gift in the museum’s 136-year history, the mix reads like an art lover’s “Twelve Days of Christmas,” with one Robert Rauschenberg, two Cy Twomblys, four Gerhard Richters, six Cindy Shermans, and nine Andy Warhols among the blue-chip pieces.

A major private contemporary art collection with a value estimated at $400 million is being donated to the Art Institute of Chicago by local philanthropists Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson, in what the museum is calling the largest gift of art in its history and a coup for the institution and the city.

Numbering 42 pieces, stocked with iconic works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and many other instantly recognizable names and spanning a time period from 1953 to 2011, experts called it one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world.

Longtime supporters of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Sam and Helen Zell, donated $10 million to the institution on behalf of the Zell Family Foundation. It is the second substantial gift the museum has received in less than seven months.

Business and publishing magnate, Sam Zell, and his wife, Helen, hope to create “The Zell Fund for Artistic Excellence” through their sizable gift. Helen served as the chair of the museum’s board from 2004-2008 and has served on various other museum committees. She is currently chairman of the collection committee.

Madeleine Grynsztejn, the museum’s director, said, “The museum is extremely grateful for this generous gift.” Grynsztejn plans to use the money to help underwrite programs like the museum’s outdoor summer plaza series, exhibitions, and artist residency programs, expand its education lectures and programs, and to help pay off debt stemming from the museum’s mortgage on its building at 220 E. Chicago Ave.

The museum received another $10 million gift in April of this year from Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson. Edis, a trustee since 1981, and Ms. Neeson are longtime supporters of the museum.