HOUSTON’S MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS RECEIVES RECORD-BREAKING GIFT

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, soon could be entered in the annals of philanthropy as the recipient of the largest cash gift to a fine arts museum ever publicly announced, Shannon Buggs reports in the Houston Chronicle. Caroline Wiess Law, the daughter of one of Humble Oil Company’s founders, made the museum the prime beneficiary of her estate. When all of Law’s assets are sold and the legal proceedings conclude, possibly by the end of this year, the museum could net between $400 million and $450 million, said director Peter Marzio. “This money will help make Houston one of the most important museums in terms of programming and serving the public,” said Mimi Gaudieri, executive director, Association of Art Museum Directors in New York.