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Hotel developer Richard Hedreen is donating more than 200 works of art and $25 million in seed cash in honor of his wife, Betty, a student.
By Christopher Kuo
Seattle University plans to build a new art museum, thanks to the donation of a $300 million art collection and $25 million in seed money from a donor, university trustees announced Wednesday.
The donation, made through real estate developer Richard Hedreen, is the largest donation in the history of the university, founded by a Jesuit in 1891, trustees said in a statement.
Hedreen will donate her entire collection, which includes more than 200 works of art dating from the 15th century to the present day, adding works by Thomas Gainsborough, Lucian Freud and Amy Sherald.
“It’s a remarkable educational collection,” the university’s president, Eduardo Peñalver, said in a phone interview, adding that “we hope to have it on our campus and that our colleges and scholars can use it in the university’s curriculum. “learning and discussion.
Hedreen said in a statement that he is donating the collection in honor of his wife, Betty, who was an alumna at Seattle University and served on the board of directors of the Seattle Art Museum. He passed away in 2022.
“I am convinced that a Jesuit university, which focuses on the formation of visual arts, poetry, literature, history and education, is the right position to have a museum that can teach art history,” Hedreen said in a telephone interview.
The new museum will be open to academics and the public, Peñalver said, adding that it will be “a bridge between our campus and the city. “
Edgar Gonzalez, vice president of university development, wrote in an email that the university has already begun talks with an architect related to the museum task and that the task will take between 3 and five years. “The initial investment will allow us to begin to move the task forward,” Gonzalez wrote.
Chris Kuo covers arts and culture as a member of the Times Scholarship Class of 2023-24. Learn more about Christopher Kuo
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