Art World Unites in Tribute to Agnes Gund Following Her Passing

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2025 - Major cultural institutions and social-justice organizations across the United States today issued heartfelt tributes to Agnes Gund, the renowned philanthropist and former president of the Museum of Modern Art, who died Sept. 18 at age 87.

Nut Graf: Agnes Gund’s death has reverberated through the art and nonprofit communities, underscoring her legacy as a transformative patron of contemporary art, arts education and criminal-justice reform. Institutions she shaped, and those she supported, have shared statements highlighting her visionary leadership and commitment to equity.

MoMA and PS1 Lead Memorials

• Museum of Modern Art director Christophe Cherix praised Gund’s dedication to diversifying MoMA’s collection and expanding educational access.
• MoMA PS1 noted that its directorship now bears her name in recognition of her early support for its merger with MoMA in 2000.

Social-Justice Groups Honor Her Activism

• The NAACP Legal Defense Fund released a statement lauding Gund’s founding of the Art for Justice Fund, which re-invested $100 million from her 2017 Lichtenstein sale into criminal-justice reform.
• The Ford Foundation recalled her collaborative work on grants addressing mass incarceration.

Arts-Education Programs Celebrate a Founder

• Studio in a School, the nonprofit Gund established in 1977, dedicated today’s workshops to her memory and vowed to expand artist residencies in New York City public schools.
• Kenyon College’s Gund Gallery announced an upcoming exhibition revisiting her original 80-work gift.

Voices From the Field

• Janai Nelson, president of the LDF, remembered Gund as “an unrelenting advocate for equity and justice through art.”
• Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak called Gund “a tireless force for beauty and social change.”

Key Contributions of Agnes Gund

• Championed acquisition of works by women and artists of color at MoMA.
• Raised funds for MoMA’s $858 million Taniguchi expansion (completed 2004).
• Founded the Art for Justice Fund (2017-2023), awarding grants for criminal-justice reform.
• Created Studio in a School, bringing professional artists into underserved classrooms.

As memorial events continue through the week, Gund’s impact on museums, schools and social-justice causes remains at the forefront of discussions about art’s power to drive change.