Gifts & Bequests

American Friends Musée d’Orsay was established in 2009, to create wide support for the Orsay and Orangerie museums, including facilitating gifts and bequests of works of art and cash donations from United States taxpayers. Should you like to learn more about bequests or gifts of art please contact us at info@aforsay.org.

Neil Levine Architectural Drawing Collection

In 2013, AFMO received a major gift of art by Harvard Professor Neil Levine who donated his entire collection of 374 architectural drawings. Destined to enrich the musée d’Orsay’s drawing collection,

AFMO will first loan the collection for a 5 years period, and ultimately, give full ownership to the museum.

Neil Levine is one of the world’s leading architectural historians. While living in Paris as a student Mr. Levine purchased many original architectural drawings by early French architects, drawings which Alice Thomine, Curator of Architecture at the musée d’Orsay, has studied and used in exhibitions.

Fables of La Fontaine, illustrated by Gustave Doré

In 2012, Bernard Duhaime, Corporate Treasurer of the American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay, made a gift to AFMO of a book, Fables of La Fontaine, illustrated by 19th century French artist Gustave Doré.

Doré created 100 paintings and a few sculptures a few of which are in the Orsay collection, but he is most known for his production of over 200 illustrated books.

Gustave Doré (1832-1883) is one of the luminaries of French nineteenth-century illustration. The book, destined for the Orsay library, is a first edition of Fables of La Fontaine, illustrated by Doré, and published by Hachette et Cie, Paris, in 1868. It is an example one of the artist’s volumes published at mid-century, as part of a series dedicated to illustrating the world’s classic literature. It includes a portrait of the 17th century Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) and 84 full-page illustrations; 248 finely engraved and fully decorative head and tailpiece pictorial designs throughout. Dominique Lobstein, director of the Orsay Library, welcomed the addition to the collection, especially as the museum is planning an exhibition on Gustave Doré in 2014.

Individual Donors

We warmly thank our donors for their generous support:

Judy Angelo Cowen Chartitable Lead Unit Trust

The Bachmann Strauss Family Fund

Andrew Black

Candice Chevaillier in honor of Kay Dickson-Farman

Edgar M. Cullman Jr.

H.S.H. Prince Pierre d’Arenberg in the memory of Count de Ribes

Margaret and Rick Evans

Thomas and Carole Fenton

Catherine Graham

Michael & Mercedes Hoffman

Ryan Inouye

John McCarter

Fredric Roberts

Jennifer Schlegel in honor of Harlan G. Schlegel Memorial Fund

Fred Seegal

Wendy L. Stevens & Jeffrey Stevens

Jennifer Sullivan

Bette L. Yancey