The Bruce Museum in Greenwich has announced the gift of a major collection of European and American art ”” ranging from French and American Impressionism to the works of Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Andrew Wyeth and others ”” which will come as a bequest from an anonymous Greenwich couple. The private collection of 70 works, including paintings, sculpture, watercolors, drawings, prints and photographs, will be the largest gift of art in the Bruce Museum”™s 112-year history.
“This gift is unprecedented in its scale and quality, and these works will further define the New Bruce as a museum that explores global stories of Modern and Contemporary art,” said Robert Wolterstorff, the Bruce Museum”™s Susan E. Lynch executive director and CEO. “We are profoundly grateful to the donors of these magnificent works, who have actively supported the Greenwich community for decades and now can be assured that their generosity will inspire and educate generations to come.”
Coming at a transformative moment for the Bruce Museum, the announcement of the promised collection accompanies a substantial leadership grant the donors have made to the New Bruce building campaign. The $60-million renovation and expansion project will double the size of the existing building and create new, modern and spacious galleries for exhibitions and installations, as well as state-of-the art spaces for education and community events.
The New Bruce is scheduled to open in March 2023, with the addition of more than 12,000 square feet of gallery space in the William L. Richter Art Wing, including a 4,500-square-foot gallery for changing exhibitions and five new galleries for the growing permanent art collection. The Museum”™s Curator of Art, Margarita Karasoulas, who joined the Bruce in November after previously serving as Assistant Curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum, will organize an installation of select loaned works from the gift to celebrate the grand opening of the New Bruce.
The collection is particularly strong in sculpture with multiple bronzes by Henry Moore. Together, they will place the Bruce Museum among the forefront of public collections in the United States of Moore”™s work.
Located in Bruce Park overlooking Greenwich Harbor, the Bruce Museum is a community-based, world-class institution that offers a changing array of exhibitions and educational programs to promote the understanding and appreciation of art and science.
In 2019, the AAM-accredited Museum broke ground on its current expansion project, which will take the building from 33,000 to over 70,000 square feet.
