The Westmoreland Museum of American Art has received a $500,000 personal gift from Tribune-Review owner Dick Scaife for the museum's 50th anniversary celebration that begins later this year.
In addition, Scaife will donate another $250,000 as a challenge grant to encourage matching donations and assist in fundraising for the celebration, said Judith Hansen O'Toole, the museum's director and chief executive officer.
O'Toole said that while Scaife has been an important and loyal supporter of the Greensburg museum for many years, "this gift just blew me out of the water."
"What an amazing validation of our efforts, both past and future. What a wonderful celebration of this museum and what it means to the community," she said. "Mr. Scaife's gifts -- both past and current -- have buoyed this organization throughout the years, allowed us to excel at meeting our mission and let us rest a little easier in times of financial hardship. He is a true visionary and devoted to art and to this region."
In December 2005, Scaife was honored with the Westmoreland Society Gold Medal for his dedication to and support of the arts at the museum. The award is given to a patron, collector, artist, critic, art historian or museum professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the arts. The Westmoreland Society is an affiliate of the museum that has a two-fold purpose: Members donate money to purchase a work of art each year and it honors a significant figure in the art world with the group's Gold Medal.
The Westmoreland museum opened its doors in 1959, a decade after Greensburg resident Mary Marchand Woods bequeathed her family home and fortune for its creation. The museum's focus was and still is the collection and exhibition of American and southwestern Pennsylvania art. The Westmoreland is one of only three museums in Pennsylvania with an emphasis on American art.
The museum's 50th anniversary events begin Nov. 8 with the opening of the exhibition, "Scalp Level Revisited," featuring southwestern Pennsylvania landscape and still life paintings.
Other anniversary events include a community New Year's celebration -- complete with fireworks -- on Dec. 31, a weekend of anniversary festivities May 29-30 and a formal 50th Anniversary Ball on May 30.
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