Seattle Art Museum receives works by Calder, $10 million endowment

Empty art gallery.

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) will receive a $10 million endowment and the donation of 48 artworks by Alexander Calder appraised at $200 million from collector and former Microsoft president Jon Shirley and his wife, Kim, ARTnews reports.

The gift, which spans the career of the 20th-century sculptor, include works on paper as well as mobiles of various sizes from the large to the intimately small. The donated works will go on exhibit at SAM in November as part of an exhibition celebrating the Shirleys' gift. In addition, the museum will receive a $10 million endowment and an annual commitment from the couple—both of whom serve on the museum’s board of trustees—of between $250,000 and $500,000 for programming and research related to Calder. 

“I’ve been collecting the works of Alexander Calder for 35 years,” Shirley told ARTnews, “and it seemed like a good time to consider giving that part of our collection to the museum, but in a way that would help activate the museum now.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Thampapon)