Graham Gund, an architect who, together with his wife Ann, collected many ambitious works of art and supported famous museums in Ohio and Massachusetts, died June 6. He is only 84 years old, according to Kenyon College. this New York Times It is reported that he has a heart disease.
Gund runs a construction company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over his career, he has carried out a series of projects from his resort in Disney to the former building of the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art.
His art collection is also listed as his lasting legacy. He is Artnews Five times in the 1990s, five times in the 2000s with Ann, ranking in the top 200s. Born in Cleveland in 1940, Gund is ranked with his sister Agnes Gund, who is a famous art philanthropist.
Gund acquired works by Pablo Picasso, Kenneth Noland, Kiki Smith, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, among others. Many of these works have since entered the Gund collection, a gallery opened in 2011 at Kennyon College, which has a psychology program Gund as an undergraduate student. (He later received a degree in architecture and urban design from Harvard University.)
Richard Serra pivot (2021), came to Kenyon campus through Gunds’ funding.
Gunds is also a long-time customer of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and currently has its directorship position donated with their funds. An 8,300 square foot gallery held a special exhibition at the museum, and over the years they have presented various artworks to the MFA, including Martin Puryear’s 1997 steel bench, which entered the institution’s collection in 2023. Currently, both Gunds are listed as trustees of the institution.
Daisy Desrosiers, director of the Kenyon College Gund Gallery, said in a statement: “His passion for contemporary art – for those artists who can achieve it, his wife Ann, who support the meaning of creativity and belief in countless ways.
