A fascinating panel discussion on "artist-endowed foundations" was held on November 8, 2011 at the Sackler Museum at Harvard University. The panel was convened to share and discuss the findings of the Aspen Institute's National Study of Artist-Endowed Foundations (the “Study”). The Study defines an artist-endowed foundation as a private foundation created or endowed by a visual artist for use in furthering charitable and educational activities serving a public benefit. The foundations are generally funded with any combination of art collections, archives, libraries, intellectual property and investment assets.
If you are interested in learning about this emerging segment of the private foundation community, and of the range of activities these foundations support, I commend the written report of the Study, which can be found at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/nonprofit-philanthropy/Publications/The-Artist-as-Philanthropist. Here is an executive summary of the Study .
The program was sponsored by The Harvard Art Museums, the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and the Department of History of Art and Architecture. The panel discussion was moderated by Marion R. Fremont-Smith, Senior Research Fellow at the Hauser Center, and the panelists included Charles C. Bergman, Chairman & CEO, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Jack Cowart, Executive Director, Roy Lichtenstein Foundation; Jack Flam, President & CEO, Dedalus Foundation (Robert Motherwell); Carolyn Somers, Executive Director, Joan Mitchell Foundation; and Christine J. Vincent, the director of the Study.
