Seminars/Events

American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Paris, September 2011

American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay (AFMO) announces its creation to the public this fall with a gala featuring the renovated galleries of what is being called the “Nouvel Orsay.”

The newly-formed AFMO is a non-profit, U.S. tax-exempt “friend,” that works collaboratively with the museum to support its operations. While American support is evident at France’s other landmark museums, the Orsay and l’Orangerie have lacked an “American Friends” partnership. Following Président Guy Cogeval’s arrival at the museum he wanted to strengthen ties between the museum and American museums and citizens. The Board of Director Honorary Chair Susan Tolson, wife of U.S. Ambassador Charles Rivkin, and Paris residents Seonaid McArthur, Sherry Johnson and legal advisor Sam Okoshken were instrumental in the early phases of the organization. Today the board has expanded to include Co-Chairs Susan and Peter J. Solomon, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, notable collectors Robert Landau and Spencer Hays, and Orsay fans such as artist Jeff Koons, an Honorary Board member.

During its first months of operations American Friends Musée d’Orsay has already shown its value by providing the museum with two sizable grants. Through the support of American Express, AFMO granted the museum almost $100,000 toward creation of a new graphic arts gallery, where rare drawings and photographs will receive the state-of-the-art lighting and display features required for fragile works on paper. The gallery will be located within the suite of newly renovated galleries on the museum’s fifth floor, next to the Impressionist paintings. In spring 2011, AFMO also granted over $120,000 to the museum to support the exhibition, Manet Inventor of Modernity.

Both grants are examples of the funding priorities for the new “friends” organization, which plans to support exhibitions (many of which travel to the United States), acquisitions, education programming in English, and capital improvements to the museum. The new American patrons will see the results of their contributions this fall at the Founders’ Gala that will feature the museum’s newly renovated fifth floor galleries. On November 12, guests will enjoy one-on-one conversations with curators in the galleries and an American Soirée in the newly redesigned Café de l’Horloge. For more information about AFMO visit www.aforsay.org.

Press Contacts: FRANCE, Jennifer Daly, , 33 (0)1 40 49 47 80
UNITED STATES, Seonaid McArthur 1-858-922-5162.