Dedicated Supporters Establish Significant Exhibition Endowment Fund

Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford joined the Barnes Foundation as founding Director’s Circle members in 2012, just as the institution prepared to open the doors of its Parkway campus. In the decade since, their steadfast involvement in the life of the Barnes has bolstered the many mission-specific initiatives that allow the Foundation to serve as a pillar in Philadelphia’s cultural landscape and beyond.

As a Trustee from 2012 to 2017, Tom’s thoughtful guidance and leadership has been instrumental in establishing the Barnes as an accessible hub for exceptional arts education, scholarship, and visual literacy. The Whitfords have encouraged the growth of The Circles and provided support toward vital institutional projects such as the annual Barnes Art Ball, Cézanne in the Barnes Foundation, and the landmark special exhibition Modigliani Up Close.

Now, as champions of the Barnes in so many ways, Tom and Margaret have made a generous commitment to the Second Century Campaign, combining an outright contribution with a gift in their will, to establish the Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford Exhibition Fund. This endowment fund will provide critical support to sustain, in perpetuity, the Barnes’s efforts to engage, educate, and inspire visitors from all backgrounds through special exhibitions and related publications and programming.

“We are thrilled to support the Second Century Campaign with this gift, both to ensure fiscal security for the Barnes’s future and to advance the projects that have become most dear to us,” says Margaret.

“The special exhibition program truly makes the Barnes shine on an international scale while providing resonant opportunities to engage with the treasures of this collection,” adds Tom. “And a blended gift allows us the flexibility to contribute this important support for the Barnes over time.”

Leave Your Legacy at the Barnes Foundation

A momentous occasion like the Barnes’s recent centennial allows us to reflect upon the institution’s history and plan for its future. There are many ways that you can sustain the Barnes’s care for and research of its collection, special exhibitions, and education and community programs for the benefit of future generations while enjoying tax savings and other benefits.

Opportunities include naming the Barnes as a beneficiary of your will, retirement account, or donor-advised fund or making a gift that provides you with income for life. Many donors have found these giving vehicles helpful as either stand-alone contributions or when paired with an outright gift.

In recognition of your generosity, you will become a member of the Barnes 1922 Legacy Society.

For information about which gift would work best for you, contact Nina McN. Diefenbach at ndiefenbach@barnesfoundation.org or 215.278.7111.