The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has announced one of the largest gifts in institution history. Officials say the late Peggy Pierce Elfvin has left a gift of nearly $11 million to the gallery where she served as a board member for 30 years.
The wife of former federal Judge John Elfvin, Mrs. Elfvin also served in a variety of volunteer and professional capacities.
Leslie H. Zemsky, President of the Board of Directors of The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, governing body of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, announced an historic bequest to the museum.
"Peg was devoted to the Albright-Knox, and her legacy, both here at the Gallery and in the community, is one of boundless generosity. This extraordinary gift is a milestone in the history of the museum, and it will have a profound and immediate impact that will continue for generations to come. She was an inspiration to all of us," said Zemsky.
The gift will endow, in perpetuity, the position of the Albright-Knox Director.
The Gallery’s eleventh director, Dr. Janne Sirén, will become the first Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
“I am privileged to be the first in this lineage, a truly special honor. Mrs. Elfvin was a remarkable philanthropist and patron of the arts. During her lifetime, alongside her husband, Peggy Pierce Elfvin at the opening of the exhibition, Georgia O’Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place, January 2005. Photograph by Tom Loonan the late Judge John T. Elfvin, she set a shining example of unwavering support for art and culture in Buffalo. I am proud to continue her work, and her extraordinary and enduring legacy. Mrs. Elfvin’s inspiring generosity significantly bolsters our endowment and becomes a cornerstone for many of our strategic aspirations, ranging from programming to campus development. Moreover, her gift will help us overcome a structural deficit that has hampered the level of our operations for a number of years. It is very difficult for an institution struggling under a structural deficit to grow and to envision the future. Mrs. Elfvin’s gift significantly mitigates this pressure. We are enormously grateful," said Sirén.
