October 25, 2021 – Leon Levy Foundation’s $4.5 million grant honors the foundation’s trustee Elizabeth Moynihan and her extensive work as an architectural historian in South Asia by endowing the Elizabeth Moynihan Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art and establishing the Elizabeth Moynihan Research Fund for South Asian Art. The Lunder Foundation’s $1.25 million grant in 2014 launched the endeavor to permanently endow the Lunder Curator of American Art. Matching funds of $1.75 million were provided by Jacqueline B. Mars, Shelby and Frederick Gans, Paul Neely, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Gage, and the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art. The visionary bequest of the late Shirley Z. Johnson (1940-2021) includes $10 million, the largest single gift to the museum since its founding. It endows the Shirley Z. Johnson Curator of Japanese Art, sponsors visiting Japanese metal artists and supports curatorial and conservation projects.
