B of A Gives $10M to MFA

I was in Boston yesterday for the fall meeting of the Governor’s Creative Economy Council. I’ll report on that in a later post, but want to mention that I passed by the Museum of Fine Arts and saw the red cloths covering the newly inscribed stones on either side of the Huntington Avenue entrane to the Museum. Behind the cloths are words recognizing the $10 million donation by the Bank of America in the form of cash and an Ellsworth Kelly painting. MFA boss Malcolm Rogers, his board, and staff deserve a heap of praise for what they have accomplished in the past few years, lifting the MFA to a higher orbit and ensuring it will be a world-class attraction for years to come. Our own Whistler House Museum of Art leaders and members would be deeply grateful for a $10 million gift—imagine a new multi-story museum building with galleries, curatorial space, and teaching areas in place of the aged one-story Parker Gallery, which has served its purpose well but now needs a successor. Read the Globe story about the B of A gift here, and get the Globe if you value the reporting.