Boston, Dec. 7 (BUS) – The works of Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer are among 30 pieces worth more than $20 million donated by legendary alumnus and investment director Peter Lynch to the Museum of Art at Boston College, the university announced. .
The works — 27 paintings and three drawings — were collected by Lynch and his late wife Caroline, according to the Associated Press.
The donation includes a $5 million grant to support the organization and ongoing exhibition at the McMullen Museum of Art for what will be called the Caroline A and Peter S. Lynch Collection, making the overall gift one of the largest in the history of the Jesuit university.
Lynch, a 1965 Boston College graduate and vice president of Fidelity Management and Research Co., said his goal was to inspire students and museum visitors because he was inspired when he developed an appreciation for art as a boy on visits to the Boston Museum of Art. Fine arts.
“I hope this work of art, which my wife Caroline and I have collected over 50 years together, will help students develop a deeper understanding of art and its importance as a form of expression,” Lynch said in a statement. “All students can certainly learn from this collection, which includes a variety of styles of painting, many of which depict the natural beauty of our country from its most famous painter.”
The set includes Picasso’s drawing “Head; Homer’s painting “Hobbs Grace”; and watercolors for “Mother and Child” cups.
The collection also includes works by John Singer Sargent, Albert Bierstadt, and Jack Butler Yeats.
It was described by Nancy Netzer, director of the McMullen Museum, as a transformative gift that will be used to start new research on the works.
“I know other museums were after the collection, but I wanted to go to my university, which greatly improved my life, and where my father taught mathematics and physics, my wife proudly received an honorary degree in 2009,” Lynch said. Annie has four wonderful and productive years.”