Baltimore Museum Of Art Gifted $5M For Matisse Center

BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Museum of Art today announced it received a gift of $5 million from the Ruth Carol Fund to support the creation of a center within the museum dedicated to the study of French artist Henri Matisse. In recognition of the gift, the center will be called The Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies.

The museum currently has a collection of more than 1,200 Matisse works, which it will draw on to create the center, according to a release. The Marder Center will serve as a resource for students, a place for exhibitions that further the understanding of the French master’s work, and for the digitization and publication of portions of the collection, making it accessible to audiences around the world.

The museum first established its Matisse collection in the early 20th century through a gift by sisters Claribel and Etta Cone. Together, they bequeathed nearly 500 works to the museum. To this group of objects, the museum added more than 700 works by the artist, amassing the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Matisse works in a public museum, according to the release.

The gift from the Ruth Carol Fund will also support the design and construction of the center, in addition to establishing an endowment for the Marder Center’s ongoing operations

The Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies will be located on the first floor of the museum and led by Jay McKean Fisher as director. The center is slated to open in 2021.