Gifts of Art and Cash Flow to Museum to Remember a Beloved Leader

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has received 47 gifts of artwork in honor of its late director, Anne d’Harnoncourt, who died in June. Among the works are pieces by Claes Oldenburg, Georges Seurat, and Frank Stella. The museum declined to provide the value of all the works donated.

The influx of gifts was not prompted by a single donor or a coordinated affair but was an outpouring of appreciation for Ms. d’Harnoncourt, who led the museum from 1982 until her death. The works were donated by her friends, staff members at other museums, artists, dealers, and collectors.

Alice Beamesderfer, interim head of curatorial affairs and the associate director of collections, knew Ms. d’Harnoncourt for 20 years.

She wrote in an e-mail message to The Chronicle that donors wanted to honor Ms. d’Harnoncourt for her “towering intellect” as well as her “marvelous eye.” She was a “a natural leader and a deeply caring person. Her passion for art and artists was sincere and infectious.”

The gifts include Seurat’s “Moored Boats and Trees,” which was donated by Jacqueline Matisse Monnier, an artist and honorary trustee at the museum.

“Plant City,” painted by Frank Stella in 1963, was influenced by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and given by Agnes Gund, former president of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York.

On top of the artworks donated, the museum has received cash gifts, which are being used to purchase a 1951 Ellsworth Kelly piece titled “Seine.” The museum declined to say how much has been given, but noted that donations are still coming in.

Ms. Beamesderfer said that most of the donors were people who knew Ms. d’Harnoncourt well and who had given to the museum before. These friendships, she says, motivated the response from donors: “She was a pretty unusual person. She really inspired everyone she came into contact with. It’s really a reflection of her personal generosity and wonderful relationships from all walks of life.”