Philanthropist Agnes Gund Donates Major Paintings and a Catcher’s Mitt to the Cleveland Museum of Art

Collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund has donated five works by important American artists to her hometown’s Cleveland Museum of Art, the institution announced on Wednesday.

The works are Claes Oldenburg’s Standing Mitt with Ball (1973), Robert Colescott’s Tea for Two (1980), Brice Marden’s Sea Painting I (1973–74), Donald Sultan’s Forest Fire (1984), and Adja Yunkers’s Sestina II (1958).

Some of the works from the 78-year-old billionaire’s vast collection of contemporary art were already on loan to the museum—including the Oldenburg and Colescott works, which are currently on view.

“Our collection of contemporary art would not be what it is without the support of Agnes Gund,” the museum’s director, William Griswold, said in a statement. “Her most recent gifts to the museum are extremely welcome additions to a part of the CMA’s collection that we are eager to expand.”

Robert Colescott’s Tea for Two (1980). Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Griswold highlighted the philanthropist’s commitment to her hometown. “She’s someone who’s been incredibly good to many institutions, but I think Cleveland occupies a special place in her heart and mind, and that of her family as well,” he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We are just so fantastically fortunate about that.”

An heiress to a banking fortune and one of the world’s most prominent collectors, Gund has long maintained a philanthropic relationship with the Ohio institution, quietly encouraging the museum to embrace contemporary art through loans and donations. Previous gifts include a large Frank Stella sculpture she donated in 2001, as well as a $10 million pledge (in addition to $10 million donated by other members of the Gund family) towards the museum’s ambitious $320 million expansion plan.

See the rest of the works Gund has donated below:

Donald Sultan’s Forest Fire (1984). Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Adja Yunkers’s Sestina II (1958). Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Claes Oldenburg Standing Mitt with Ball (1973). Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Brice Marden’s Sea Painting I (1973-74). Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.