Pomona College in Claremont, California, has announced a $15 million gift from alumna and trustee Janet Inskeep Benton in support of the new Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College.

Slated to open in the autumn of 2020, the Benton will replace the Pomona College Museum of Art and will house a growing permanent collection of more than fourteen thousand objects, including the Kress Collection of Renaissance panel paintings, four complete series of Goya etchings, a collection of Native American art, and numerous works by regional and international artists. It also will host experimental, cutting-edge exhibitions and include pieces from notable alumni, including Helen Pashgian, James Turrell, Peter Shelton, the late Marcia Hafif, and the late Chris Burden. Conceived of and designed to serve as a teaching museum, the 33,000-square-foot, U-shaped building will feature a central courtyard, sloping roofline, and cast-in-place concrete walls with wood-and-glass accents.

"Pomona College has long been at the center of artistic excellence and experimentation for Southern California," said art professor Kathleen Howe, who also serves as the museum’s director. "The Benton continues our commitment to presenting vibrant contemporary art, intimately engaged with the issues of our day, while bringing the art of the past into an ongoing dialogue with the present."