The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock hosted its first annual meeting on June 11 – its first since the museum’s reopening. During the meeting, Victoria Ramirez, executive director, revealed that the museum will host an exhibit of works by artist Diego Rivera, “Rivera’s Paris,” and will bring back its black-tie fundraiser, Tabriz, next year.
Curated by Brian Lang, “Rivera’s Paris” will feature work on loan from various institutions and have “Dos Mujeres,” which was donated to AMFA in 1955, as its centerpiece.
“At the time, this was the most significant work of art to be donated to an Arkansas museum,” she said at the meeting. “This painting set the tone for the museum’s future and the caliber of work that would be collected. In fact, this painting is so historically significant that today it remains one of the most important works of art in our state.”
Diego Rivera’s “Dos Mujeres”
She added that the painting was created during the 10 years Rivera spent in Paris, where he met dozens of influential artists, including Pablo Picasso, and experimented with cubism.
The last Tabriz fundraiser took place in 2017, Ramirez said.
“Mark your calendar because it’s going to be a day you will not want to miss,” she added.
Terri Erwin, chair of the Rockefeller Award Committee, presented the 2024 Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award to outgoing board chairman Van Tilbury. The award recognizes those who go above and beyond to support the arts and the museum.
Tilbury joined the board in 2012 and has also served as president and vice president. He is a member of the governance committee and has served on the finance and corporate partnership committees. He also served on the building committee.
(Left to right) Elizabeth Tilbury, Van Tilbury, Harriet Stephens, Warren Stephens
“It’s been an amazing journey,” he said. “I think about where we were in 2012 and where we are today, and we’ve come a long way, so there’s so many people to thank in this room.”
Warren Stephens, chair of AMFA Foundation, and his wife, Harriet, who served as co-chairs of AMFA’s capital campaign, announced the final total for the campaign, which concluded at the end of last year, was $176.6 million.
“We are so appreciative of the 525 contributors to the capital campaign, including 33 donors who gave more than $1 million and above,” Harriet said. “Each individual, foundation and business who contributed to this campaign should be proud of our collective achievement — a world-class art museum that will benefit Arkansans and visitors to our state for generations to come.”
(Left to right) Warren Stephens, Harriet Stephens, Van Tilbury, Terri Erwin
Ramirez presented Stan Hastings, president of the board of trustees, with a framed copy of the first welcome guide presented to visitors of the museum as a sign of gratitude to Hastings for shepherding the reimagined museum’s inaugural year.
Hastings presented gifts of appreciation to several outgoing board members and announced the income executive committee, which will include Hastings as chair, Le’Kita Brown as president, Steve Ronnel as vice president, Gary Cooper as treasurer and Paul Parnell as secretary.
In addition, former Razorback and professional basketball player Darrell Walker will be the AMFA Foundation director.
“Undoubtedly, Darrell will be an asset to the foundation, and we are glad to have him serve as director,” Warren said.
Ramirez said the museum’s attendance was the highest on record, at about 175,500 guests and outreach participants, and it saw the highest number of donors and members on record last year.
It was also the highest revenue year on record. According to the annual report, the museum generated more than $11 million in revenue last year compared to about $6.7 million in 2018 as the Arkansas Arts Center.
Victoria Ramirez
“I am proud the museum finished the year in the black, and this fiscal responsibility is our commitment to you, both this year and every year,” Ramirez said.
Her presentation also included a slideshow with quotes from visitors, as well as a quote from an employee who praised the museum as the best place the employee had worked.
“This work could not be achieved without the hard work, talent and dedication of museum staff,” Ramirez said, “and one measure of a successful museum is creating a positive, supportive internal culture where every staff member is able to work to their highest potential.”
Warren said that over the past year, the foundation has cleaned and conserved 96 works, and the conservation work was supported by the Brown Foundation in Houston.
He added that more than 60 works of art were purchased or gifted to the collection over the past year.
Lunch, which was served before the presentation, included tomato pie, pimento cheese and crackers, salad, and almond cake from AMFA’s Park Grill.
“Thank you all for being here,” Ramirez said at the conclusion of the meeting. “I think that this camaraderie, the support of this great institution, I think you can feel it in the room. I just send my heartfelt thanks to you for your support in this great museum. We’ve got great things to come.”
For more information, visit arkmfa.org.
READ ALSO: UAMS FIRST IN U.S. TO OFFER NEW TREATMENT-RESISTANT THERAPY FOR DEPRESSION
