The Museum of Modern Art announces that Los Angeles-based philanthropist David Geffen has given a $100 million gift toward the Museum’s renovation and expansion, the largest gift to the institution’s Campaign.
In recognition of Geffen’s extraordinary gift, three floors of new galleries, created as part of the Museum’s expansion into the tower being constructed immediately to the west of the Museum at 53 West 53rd Street, will be named The David Geffen Wing.
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In addition, the fourth-floor suite of galleries in the current museum building will be named The David Geffen Galleries this spring.
With Geffen’s unrestricted gift, MoMA has met its $650 million campaign goal for the expansion and renovation project. The building will add 50, 000 square feet of gallery space, allowing the Museum to reconceive the presentation of its collection and exhibitions, and will provide greater visitor accessibility through the enhancement of the Museum’s public areas.
According to the New York Times, MoMA will keep the campaign open to raise funds for its endowment and operating expenses during construction, when it expects revenue from admissions and special events to decline.
Geffen has been a longtime supporter of the museum, donating and lending important artworks from his collection over the years.
In December 2015, he gave $100 million to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the renovation of performance space formerly known as Avery Fisher Hall, and he has made significant gifts to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, to establish the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and toward the creation of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
According to the Times, Geffen ultimately will leave his art collection, valued at more than $2 billion, to his foundation, which will donate the pieces to other institutions or sell them and use the proceeds to support his main causes — culture, medicine, and education.
Geffen told the Times “When I worked in the mailroom at the William Morris agency, I used to brown bag it at the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art. It’s where I developed my interest in post-World War II art.”
