Anges Gund, an avid art collector and towering importance to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, died Thursday in Manhattan. She is 87 years old. New York Times She died Friday, but no cause was provided.
After announcing Gund’s death, artists and cultural workers entered social media to commemorate her memories. “My heart has just opened. Rest in peace.
“In power, Aggie – you have given us a more just, more beautiful, more infinitely humanized world,” wrote Anne Pasternak, director of the Brooklyn Museum.
In the art world, Gund is the power of unremitting achievement. She led the MOMA expansion of the 1990s era and transformed it into New York City, the global center of contemporary art. She has collected many typical artists, including Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns and Bris Martin masterpiece (1962) At the auction and using $100 million in proceeds to develop the art of justice funds, a grant initiative dedicated to criminal justice reform.
“Gund never separates her collection and philanthropy from politics,” said David Weiner, interim chair of the school’s nonprofit studio for art education, in an emailed statement. Weiner tells how Gund opened a nonprofit in 1977, which continued to offer art lessons to children: “She did this after opening her copy New York Times One morning, New York plans to reduce the fear of art classes, which has become a victim of the financial crisis the city faces. “How can children not have art?” she asked herself. ”
Gund is also known for getting to know the artists she supports. “I look like part of Aggie’s security details in this photo, but she is one of the rare characters in the art world who will do anything – including being a bodyguard – because she will do anything for you,” Glenn Ligon wrote under Gund’s portrait and posted on Instagram. “So loss, you both look so beautiful together! I know she means the world to you and many of us! May she rest in peace and strength in eternal peace and strength.”
Lorna Simpson said of Gund in his post: “A remarkable man, firmly upholding the principles of a broad art and world, has been a champion of a just society for decades. Extraordinary and love.”
Museum professionals outside New York also expressed their condolences. “I am honored to spend time with Agnes Gund during my time with MOMA PS1,” wrote Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation. She continued: “A legend and idol whose lifelong belief and support for art and social justice played a role in the lives and careers of so many.”
