The Henry Luce Foundation has provided over $3 million to 27 art museums and cultural organizations to support their work in the field of American art during the COVID-19 pandemic. Art museums and other cultural non-profits have suffered significant financial losses as a result of the pandemic. Endowment declines, the disappearance of earned income, and a slowdown in fundraising have, together, put museums in a very precarious position.
The Luce Foundation’s American Art Program (AAP) has sought to aid these institutions, which collectively make the artistic heritage of the nation and its peoples accessible to all. The Program has awarded new grants and reallocated funding from project grants to keep museum staff employed and collections safe and secure. More than $1.6 million in new grants has been distributed to 15 institutions, and nearly $1.4 million has been re-allocated to support a dozen additional organizations.
Museums supported by the COVID relief initiative of the American Art Program include: the Brooklyn Museum in New York; the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ; the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts; the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey; the Oakland Museum of California; and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, TN, among many others.
In addition to assisting individual institutions, the Luce Foundation has contributed $100,000 to the NYC Arts Organizations Collaborative, a consortium of 15 New York City-based arts organizations that seeks to raise funds to support staff salaries in the coming months.
View American Art Emergency Grants
A leader in arts funding in the United States, the Luce Foundation's American Art Program was established in 1982 to support museums, universities, and arts organizations in their efforts to advance the understanding and experience of American and Native American visual arts through research, exhibitions, publications, and collection projects.
The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission through grantmaking and leadership programs in the fields of Asia, higher education, religion and theology, art, and public policy.
