MFA Boston Receives Transformative $25 Million Gift

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on October 10 revealed that the Wyss Foundation had presented it with a $25 million gift in aid of its ongoing renovations to its modern art department. Established in 1998 by Swiss medical-manufacturing billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, the foundation finances arts, education, journalism, and environmental initiatives. The money will fund more than 5,000 square feet of new gallery space and two new staff positions, all devoted to twentieth-century art.

“This moment marks a new chapter for modern art at the MFA, and we’re incredibly grateful to Hansjörg Wyss and his foundation for their generosity,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, the museum’s director, in a statement. “This gift honors Hansjörg’s lifelong journey in the world of art, spanning Europe and America, enabling us to create transformative experiences for generations to come. It allows us, as well, to share parts of our collection that are generally underrepresented, encouraging further study and recognition in our global museum.”

The renovations, designed by Annum Architects, add four new galleries, three of which will be named for Wyss and his late wife, artist Rosamund Zander. The first gallery, dedicated to modern sculpture, is set to open in spring 2025 in the Linde Family Wing, where it will link the museum’s modern and contemporary galleries. The remaining three galleries are slated to open on the first floor of the MFA’s Evans Wing in fall 2025. Of these, one will be devoted to rotating single-artist displays. The new staff positions are those of conservator and the Hansjörg Wyss Curator of Modern Art. Applications are being accepted through June 15, 2025, for the former role, while the latter was filled in September by Claire Howard, previously a curator at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to support the MFA’s efforts to reimagine the display of its 20th-century arts collections and highlight underrepresented artists,” said Wyss in a statement. “Promoting the arts and enabling discovery has been at the core of the Wyss Foundation’s mission, and I’m grateful to the MFA for their support in expanding those efforts to a museum with deep significance for myself and my late wife, Rosamund Zander. I know she would be overjoyed that a new generation will be able to experience the same collections that sparked her lifelong love for the arts.”