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The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation has made an unprecedented $1 million commitment to the art gallery at the College. Holy Cross will raise an additional $600,000 in matching funds in connection with this gift. The Cantor Foundation gift will be the largest ever received by the College’s art gallery, which was established by and named for the Cantors in 1983. Loyal benefactors to the College’s fine arts collection, Iris Cantor and her late husband donated 53 works of art, ranging from bronze sculptures by the French artist Auguste Rodin to 18th-century Italian mosaics.
“Every aspect of the Cantor Gallery’s exhibition and educational program will benefit from this exceptionally generous gift,” says Roger Hankins, gallery director. “Since the gallery’s founding, the Cantors have championed our collection and programming. Now, again with their considerable and generous support, we’re moving to another stage. These funds will provide dedicated resources to build on the success we have achieved over the past two decades.”
“The College of the Holy Cross has been dear to our hearts for many years,” says Iris Cantor. “The College has shown a great commitment to the teaching and preservation of fine arts, and it is an honor for me to support their wonderful work.”
“We are honored by our longstanding relationship with the Cantor Foundation,” said Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College. “This latest gift is a recognition of the exceptional work Roger Hankins and others have done to build the reputation of the Cantor Gallery and the quality of its exhibitions and related activities—and will help us continue to increase the effectiveness of the gallery as an educational resource to the College and the wider community.”
According to Hankins, the funds will double the gallery’s endowment, enabling the College to establish a new administrative framework and hire additional staff. With such resources, the gallery will improve all aspects of its program—from the quality and reach of its exhibitions to the care and conservation of a collection consisting of more than 400 historical and contemporary objects.
The gallery will be able to undertake new curatorial projects, including scholarly publications and multimedia programs, he adds. The funds will also support its expanded program of exhibitions, which now includes the summer months when the College is not in session.
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