The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, has announced a $34 million gift and the donation of 40 artworks, including paintings, drawings, watercolors, and glass sculpture from philanthropist Joan Brock.

The Macon and Joan Brock Art Collection is the largest expansion of the museum’s American art collection since Walter Chrysler's transformational gift in 1971. The collection—considered one of the most significant private collections of American art assembled in the twenty-first century—includes works by artists such as John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, William Baziotes, and Charles Sheeler, as well as glass sculpture by Debora Moore. Joan Brock’s husband, Macon, who died in 2017, was a co-founder of the Dollar Tree retail chain.

The $34 million gift will fund the expansion of the Perry Glass Studio showcasing the museum’s nationally recognized glass collection. In addition, the gift will fund endowed positions for the museum director and a curatorial assistant, both to be named in honor of the Brocks. In 2014, the couple funded the expansion of the museum’s main building, and in 2017, endowed the position of the Brock Curator of American Art.

“I am deeply honored by Joan’s extraordinary generosity and her and Macon’s longtime commitment to the Chrysler,” said museum director Erik Neil. “Their gifts have been transformational for the museum. The art and the endowments help us grow and contribute immensely to our institutional strength.”

“I have great esteem for the [museum], its leaders and the talented team of professionals who work there,” said Brock. “Our collection has brought us true joy, and I’m hoping museum visitors will be inspired as we have by these great artists.”

(Photo credit: Wikimedia/Kurpfalzbilder)