NOTED COLLECTOR AND MORGAN TRUSTEE EUGENE V. THAW TO PROVIDE INITIAL FUNDS FOR THE PROJECT

The Morgan Library & Museum, which holds one of the world’s premier collections of drawings dating from the era of Michelangelo and Raphael to the modern period, announced today the creation of a new institute to support research in the drawings field and to nurture new generations of scholars and curators. Eugene V. Thaw, a Life Trustee of the Morgan and noted drawings collector, has donated $5 million to launch the initiative, which will begin operation in November and will be housed at the Morgan.

The new institute, to be called the Drawing Institute at The Morgan Library & Museum, will sponsor annual fellowships and host seminars, symposia, and lectures. Plans also call for it to mount small, focused exhibitions and to support a scholarly publications program. In addition, the institute will undertake joint initiatives with the IMAF (International Music and Art Foundation) Centre for Drawings at The Courtauld Gallery, centering on old master drawings, and with the Menil Drawing Institute and Study Center in Houston, with its emphasis on modern and contemporary drawings. Linda Wolk-Simon, who was recently appointed to head the Morgan’s drawings department, will oversee the venture.