The Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, have announced a $10 million pledge from Maxine and Stuart Frankel to the Campaign for Cranbrook.

The commitment from the Michigan-based Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation and the Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation is part of the Frankel Challenge to encourage Cranbrook's governors and trustees to raise an additional $36 million to support endowment, preservation, renovation, and other needs at the academy and art museum. Funds raised through the challenge grant will also finance upgrades to the mechanical systems for all buildings, construction of new storage space, and a preparation area for objects in the museum's collection.

"From the beginning, these institutions have served as incubators for creativity and have promoted art as a way to expand the way people think," said Cranbrook trustee Maxine Frankel, who is also board chair of the academy and the museum. "While math and science are critical, we have to teach art and art-making to develop creative thinking skills."