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SFMOMA RAISES $250 MILLION FOR EXPANSION AND ENDOWMENT

Contributions Double SFMOMA's Endowment and Propel Museum Toward $480 Million Goal to Transform the Visitor Experience and Enhance Museum's Role in the Bay Area


February 4, 2010

Sam Francis, Middle Blue III
Sam Francis, Middle Blue III, 1959; oil on canvas; 72 x 96 in.; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at SFMOMA; © Samuel L. Francis Foundation, California/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Board Chair Charles R. Schwab announced today that the museum has received landmark contributions totaling more than $250 million to expand the museum and grow its endowment. Making up more than half of a projected $480 million campaign goal, these pledges from museum leadership will fuel SFMOMA's plans to triple its gallery and public spaces; offer enhanced exhibitions, educational programs, and services for the public; and showcase the Fisher Collection, one the world’s finest private collections of modern and contemporary art. Of the total raised to date, $100 million will go toward SFMOMA's endowment — increasing it by 100 percent — to support expanded programming and operations and to ensure the institution's long-term success. These early commitments, which will enable the museum to move forward confidently with its expansion, are structured as challenge grants in order to catalyze support from other funders.

SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra also announced that the museum has extended its groundbreaking agreement with the family of Doris and the late Donald Fisher to house their unparalleled art collection from a 25-year loan to a period of one hundred years, which will be renewable thereafter. The Fisher Collection will be on display in a new wing that will be built as part of the museum's expansion. Select works from SFMOMA's collection will also be presented in the new wing and works from the Fisher Collection will be interwoven throughout the museum. The Fisher Collection will also become an integral part of SFMOMA's exhibitions, educational and public programs, and ongoing scholarship. A major exhibition drawn from the 1,100 works in the Fisher Collection, with masterworks by Alexander Calder, Chuck Close, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and many others, will be presented at SFMOMA from June 25 through September 19, 2010.

Benezra also announced that SFMOMA is launching an international search to select an architect to design the expansion. The museum will invite a select group of firms to submit proposals and anticipates choosing an architect in fall 2010. The projected completion date for the expansion is 2016.

"As we mark the museum’s 75th anniversary, this transformative expansion and the addition of the Fisher Collection will dramatically increase SFMOMA's educational, economic, and cultural role in San Francisco — a city celebrated worldwide as a hub for innovation and creativity," said Schwab. "These pivotal contributions give us great momentum to galvanize others in support of a project that will strengthen one of the Bay Area's greatest public resources. I am confident that this early show of support will inspire SFMOMA trustees and friends to meet the challenge of securing SFMOMA's position among the world’s top modern and contemporary art museums."

"San Francisco is where my parents raised their family and opened the first Gap store in 1969, which grew into a business beyond their dreams. They wanted to find a place to share the art collection that they lovingly built together over four decades and were thrilled with this unique partnership opportunity with SFMOMA," said museum Trustee Bob Fisher, son of Doris and Don Fisher. "The entire family is dedicated to the cultural vitality of this city, and we are committed to supporting this important community institution and helping give art lovers around the world a new reason to visit San Francisco."

Said Benezra, "Over eight decades, this museum has grown through the patronage and foresight of individuals dedicated to creating an outstanding museum on the West Coast. This same generosity, vision, and commitment to our educational mission is driving SFMOMA’s growth in the 21st century — enabling us to expand our programs and services to the community, and offer unparalleled opportunities to experience modern and contemporary art."

SFMOMA has worked with the management consulting firm Bain & Company since October to complete a comprehensive business plan to determine the operating expenses and related revenue and endowment requirements necessary to sustain an expanded program and facility. SFMOMA last completed a major expansion in 1995, when it moved from small, retrofitted, rented space in the War Memorial Building across from San Francisco’s City Hall into the celebrated brick-front building on Third Street designed by architect Mario Botta.

The move catalyzed incredible growth in the museum’s audiences, educational programs, exhibitions, and collections. During the past 15 years, SFMOMA's annual average attendance has tripled to approximately 650,000; membership has grown to 40,000; the collection has more than doubled to 27,000 works; family programs have increased five-fold; and teacher-training programs have increased six-fold. SFMOMA has also developed one of strongest exhibition programs in the world, organizing groundbreaking shows that travel to leading museums internationally, including recent surveys of the work of Diane Arbus, Olafur Eliasson, Eva Hesse, Frida Kahlo, William Kentridge, Sol LeWitt, Richard Tuttle, and Jeff Wall. 

In moving to its new home, SFMOMA also spurred the transformation of the city's South of Market district, where the museum became the cornerstone of subsequent residential, retail, and cultural development, revitalizing the entire quadrant of the city's downtown. In May 2009 SFMOMA opened a new, $24 million Rooftop Garden that was fully funded upon completion and supported by an endowment for ongoing operations and programming.

Today, SFMOMA is expanding to accommodate the tremendous growth in its audiences, collections, and programs since 1995 and to enhance its offerings for museum visitors. The expansion also provides great potential for continued future growth of the museum's permanent collection.

"Our 1995 expansion provided SFMOMA with a landmark building that literally put the museum on the map and signaled our mission and ambition to the public," said Benezra. "Our next expansion will create the facilities needed to accommodate the institutional growth we have achieved during the past 15 years and will enable us to both expand our role within the region and move to next level of service and performance as one of leading museums of modern and contemporary art in the world."

Architect Selection

SFMOMA has appointed a committee of museum and community leaders that will evaluate distinguished architects worldwide and recommend the firm that will design the expansion. The museum has also engaged David Meckel, FAIA, director of research and planning at California College of the Arts, to advise the committee and serve as a resource in the process. The final selection will be ratified by the full Board of Trustees.

"SFMOMA has a distinguished track record for championing great architecture and design, as evidenced by our design exhibitions, our collection, and our current building," noted Neal Benezra. "The success of the past 15 years has led SFMOMA to a point where it needs to expand again to meet current public demand and engage and serve future generations of visitors. This expansion will reflect SFMOMA's commitment to excellent design while achieving our primary objectives: to offer an unparalleled visitor experience and continue to grow our collections and exhibition programs.

SFMOMA is considering a range of architecture firms that are renowned for their innovative designs, have a proven ability to understand and meet the needs of an art museum as a civic resource, and share a commitment to environmentally sustainable development. The museum will announce the architect selected to design the expansion in fall 2010.

About the Expansion

SFMOMA's expansion will provide an additional 100,000 square feet of gallery and public space, greatly enhancing and expanding both the presentation of art in all areas of its collections—painting and sculpture, photography, architecture and design, media arts—and its educational programs. The expansion will also include 40,000 square feet of support space, including larger and more advanced conservation facilities and an expanded library.

Following selection of the architect, additional site planning, and approval from local agencies, SFMOMA will develop a new wing on Howard Street (between Third and New Montgomery streets) extending north across Natoma Street, which will connect to the rear of the museum along the southern facade — creating galleries that will merge seamlessly with the existing museum.

The museum plans to relocate administrative support space from the current buildings into the new facility, providing more than 13,000 square feet of new gallery and public space in its original building, while consolidating all staff offices to one on-site location. In addition, the expansion will include a new entry on Minna Street (which runs along the museum’s northern facade) to improve access for school groups and for visitors to the museum’s Phyllis Wattis Theater for public programming.

SFMOMA's current building is 225,000 square feet with nearly 65,000 square feet of galleries, including the 14,400-square-foot Rooftop Garden.

 

In Memoriam: Evelyn D. Haas

February 3, 2010

Evelyn D. Haas
Evelyn D. Haas

Evelyn D. Haas, a great friend to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the community
at large, passed away on February 3, 2010.

"It would be impossible to overstate the generosity that Evie demonstrated to SFMOMA during the 50 years she was involved with this institution — from the myriad masterpieces she placed in our collection to her advocacy that led to the construction of our landmark building and the unparalleled example of public philanthropic commitment she established," said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. "Her generous spirit, enthusiasm, and dedication to SFMOMA will be missed by us all."

Haas was the longest serving Trustee on the SFMOMA Board, joining in 1972. She began at SFMOMA as a volunteer in the 1950s. She served as the Board chair (from 1982 to 1983), president (1981 to 1982 and 1984 to 1986), vice president (1975 to 1980), and Membership Activities Board chair (1961 to 1962). She also served as the Women's Board (now the Modern Art Council) president (1970 to 1971). She played an early and very important role in strengthening the museum.

Haas was instrumental in increasing the museum's membership, and she, along with her late husband, Walter, figured prominently in SFMOMA's successful capital campaign in the early 1990s to build the internationally acclaimed Mario Botta–designed building. Her civic and community leadership were characterized by her devotion to making art accessible to everyone.

Haas was a great lover of modern and contemporary art who donated to the museum works including Richard Diebenkorn's Berkeley #59 (1955); Carleton E. Watkins's Mirror View of Upper Yosemite Fall, 1,600 Feet, Yosemite (ca. 1878-1881); Untitled (Desert) and Untitled (Galaxy) from the portfolio Untitled (1975) by Vija Celmins; and Tête et Feuille; Tête et Vase/Kopf und Blatt; Kopf und Vase (Head and Leaf; Head and Vase) (1929) by Jean Arp, to name just a few. In 1997, the museum established the Evelyn D. Haas Exhibition Fund, which supported exhibitions that often resulted in record-breaking attendance including Degas to Picasso; Magritte; Keith Haring; Diane Arbus: Revelations; Chuck Close: Self-Portraits; Picasso and American Art; Matisse: Painter as Sculptor; Frida Kahlo; Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities; and most recently, The Anniversary Show.

Haas also provided leadership and philanthropic support to numerous other Bay Area cultural, educational, and medical institutions. She was a leading advocate for the San Francisco Chronicle's Season of Sharing Fund. Her involvement in the annual fundraising campaign began in 1986, when Walter approached the Chronicle to launch the special fund to benefit Bay Area individuals and families in need of emergency financial assistance. After Walter's death in 1995, she became even more active in the campaign and was one of its most vocal and steadfast proponents, writing personal letters each year to hundreds of friends and colleagues urging them to help their Bay Area neighbors in crisis.

Haas was a life governor of the San Francisco Symphony after having served for more than 40 years as a volunteer and trustee. Additionally, she was an emeritus board member of the California Pacific Medical Center Foundation and also served on the board of San Francisco Children's Hospital. She served as a trustee of the War Memorial Board since 1978 at the appointment of six San Francisco mayors.

Together with Walter, she established the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund in 1953 as a private foundation. Their philanthropy was influenced by the lessons he learned in helping to make Levi Strauss & Co. a model corporate citizen. The Fund focuses on five areas: immigrant rights and integration, gay and lesbian rights, education opportunity, leadership, and community initiatives.

Haas was born Evelyn Danzig in 1917 and raised in New York City. Her father was a governor of the New York Stock Exchange, and her mother was an amateur writer. In 1940 she married Walter Abraham Haas Jr. They met at a dance in New York and were married just before Walter went to serve four years in the Army during World War II. She earned her bachelor-of-arts degree from Wheaton College in 1939, was awarded Alumna of the Year in 1985, and received an honorary doctorate from the school in 1989. In 1979 she wrote the book Wade a Little Deeper, Dear: A Woman's Guide to Fly Fishing.

SFMOMA welcomes donations to the Museum Fund in memory of Evelyn D. Haas. Please visit the Museum Fund page to make your memorial gift.


 

Frequently Asked Questions About the Fisher Collection

December 11, 2009

In April 2009 SFMOMA announced that it was planning for an expansion to accommodate the tremendous growth in our audiences, collections, and programs since the Third Street building opened in 1995. In late September we announced a groundbreaking partnership to provide a home at SFMOMA for the renowned Fisher Collection of contemporary art.

We look forward to keeping you informed as these transformative initiatives move forward. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions, which will be updated on an ongoing basis.

How did the Fisher Collection find a home at SFMOMA?

Over the past 40 years, Doris and Donald Fisher, longtime patrons and supporters of SFMOMA, built one of the finest private collections of contemporary art in the world. The Fisher family is now partnering with SFMOMA to present this collection, making extraordinary works of art — including some of the key masterpieces of the last 50 years — available to the public, here at SFMOMA. This represents a tremendous gift to the people of the Bay Area and the nation, and will benefit millions of visitors in the years to come.

When will the Fisher Collection be on view at SFMOMA?

SFMOMA will present a major exhibition of the Fisher Collection in the summer of 2010 as part of our 75th anniversary celebration. Upon completion of our expansion, works from the Fisher Collection will be on display at the museum in a dedicated new wing and will also be interwoven with works from SFMOMA's modern and contemporary holdings.

What does this mean for museum visitors?

SFMOMA is dedicated to inspiring and educating visitors of all ages from the Bay Area and around the world. With the incorporation of the Fisher Collection, an expanded SFMOMA will become home to one the world's foremost contemporary art collections and will provide three times as much gallery and public space, with enhanced exhibitions, educational programs, and amenities for the public.

What does this mean for San Francisco?

SFMOMA is a major contributor to the city's cultural vibrancy and robust creative economy. Expanding our facilities and presenting the Fisher Collection here will reinforce San Francisco's international reputation for innovation and excellence in the arts.

How will this expansion change SFMOMA?

Expanding SFMOMA will accommodate the tremendous growth of the museum's collections, audience and educational programs since 1995, and allow us to meet the needs of our visitors in the 21st century. While we are still in the planning phase, the expansion is envisioned to add more than 100,000 square feet of gallery and public space, and more than 40,000 square-feet of support space, including larger and more advanced conservation facilities, an expanded library, and consolidated offices for the staff. Plans will evolve through additional site planning and the ongoing review process with local agencies.

When will construction for the expansion begin, how long will it take, and how much will it cost?

We are still in the planning phase. SFMOMA is conducting rigorous due diligence and developing a business plan to determine the budget and timeline for the expansion, the long-term fiscal impact, and the scope of a capital campaign. The campaign will support the expansion and grow the museum's endowment to ensure that the project is implemented successfully and can be sustained over time.

What is the museum's history with the Fisher family?

Doris and Don Fisher have been longtime friends and patrons of SFMOMA who supported the museum for decades and donated many important works to our collection. Don Fisher was a member of the Executive Committee and served as an SFMOMA Trustee from 1983 until his passing in September 2009. Doris Fisher has served on the Education Committee since 1992. The Fisher's eldest son, Robert Fisher, has served on the Board of Trustees since 2003.

How will SFMOMA pay for the expansion?

SFMOMA is developing a business plan that will inform the museum's fundraising strategy and timeline. The Fisher family is committed to making a substantial gift toward the expansion and endowment, and SFMOMA's leadership is fully committed to realizing this tremendous project.

How large is SFMOMA's building now?

The current building totals 225,000 square feet with nearly 65,000 square feet of galleries, including the 14,400-square-foot Rooftop Garden.

What will be the expansion look like? Who will create the design?

Throughout its 75-year history, SFMOMA has been committed to great architecture and design, as evidenced by our exhibitions, permanent collection, and current building. As we celebrate 15 years in the striking building designed by Mario Botta, SFMOMA is looking forward to adding new facilities that will be distinguished in their design and, above all, accessible and inspiring for our visitors. The project is still in the planning phase and no decision has been made about the design or the selection of an architect.

Where will the expansion be located?

The museum is looking at space on Howard Street between Third and New Montgomery extending north to Natoma Street, including 670 Howard (formerly owned by Heald College), which SFMOMA purchased in 2007. While still in planning phase, we envision an expansion that will connect to the rear of the museum, primarily along the southern façade, creating galleries that will merge seamlessly with the existing museum.

What will happen to Firehouse 1 on Howard Street?

As part of the planning process, SFMOMA is in discussions with the city about ways to assist in the relocation of the inadequate fire station on Howard Street, which cannot house enough apparatus for its service area and presents safety challenges for the community and the firefighters. In one scenario being considered, SFMOMA would build a new, modernized and seismically safe fire station as a gift to the community, enabling the city to finally replace Firehouse 1 at no taxpayer expense.

How will SFMOMA accommodate additional visitors, parking, and traffic in the area?

These issues are being studied and will be addressed in the expansion plan. SFMOMA already has excellent access to public transportation and several parking garages within a three-block radius. This exciting expansion is all about offering an even greater visitor experience, and the museum is committing to ensuring that all aspect of that experience are both convenient and inspiring.

We look forward to sharing updates with you in the months ahead. Check this page for the latest news about SFMOMA's expansion.

 

A Tribute to Donald Fisher

September 28, 2009

Donald Fisher
Donald Fisher

Donald Fisher, who along with his wife, Doris, was among the greatest and most generous donors in the history of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, passed away on Sunday, September 27.

Don Fisher first joined the SFMOMA Board of Trustees in 1983. Through the years, he served with great distinction in many roles, among them the elected position of Secretary/Treasurer, and on the Executive, Finance, Nominating, Audit, and Building Committees.

"On behalf of the entire of Board of Trustees, I am deeply saddened by the loss of our friend Don Fisher," said Board Chair Charles R. Schwab. "Don was instrumental in the development of SFMOMA, and his generosity will be felt for generations to come. From gifts of masterworks and support for exhibitions over the years to his latest landmark gift to the city—designating SFMOMA as the future home of his extraordinary collection—we are all the beneficiaries of his leadership and legacy."

Fisher was a driving force in expanding SFMOMA's collection and was the founding chair of the museum's Accessions Committee. Through his leadership, the practice of annual support for accessions in each of SFMOMA's curatorial areas was established, and it continues to this day.

Don and Doris Fisher have supported many great exhibitions and made numerous gifts of art to SFMOMA over the years. They generously underwrote exhibitions of the work of Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, Ellsworth Kelly, Gerhard Richter, and, most recently, William Kentridge. The Fishers made 37 fractional gifts to the museum, including works by Calder, Kelly, Kentridge, and Richter, as well as Chuck Close, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Sigmar Polke, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, and Jeff Wall. Together, Don and Doris Fisher have also supported SFMOMA's programs in education and publications and the museum's fund-raising events.

Through The Gap Foundation, the Fishers have long supported half-price admission and programming on Thursday evenings. In addition, through gifts from The Gap Foundation and Banana Republic, they have generously supported KidstART free admission for children, education programs for youth, the development of education and audience programs utilizing new technologies, and exhibitions of works by Alexander Calder and Yoko Ono.  

Don and Doris Fisher have also played a seminal role in developing and sustaining SFMOMA since the opening of the museum's downtown building in 1995. Don Fisher served on the committee that selected Mario Botta as architect, and the Fishers were among the most generous donors to the project — first to the New Museum Campaign, and then to the Capital Campaign for Endowment. 

On September 25 SFMOMA announced the details of a pioneering partnership between the Fishers and the museum to house the Fishers' extraordinary collection of contemporary art at the museum. The Fisher Collection will be the centerpiece of a dramatic expansion of SFMOMA, to which the Fisher family will give significant support. The Fishers will again play a pivotal role in what will be a profound transformation of SFMOMA in the 21st century.

Beyond their record of exceptional generosity to SFMOMA, Don and Doris Fisher have been leading Bay Area philanthropists, supporting the San Francisco Opera, Symphony and Ballet, Stanford University, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, as well as many other regional organizations.

"San Francisco has lost a great leader. This city and this museum owe a great debt of gratitude for Don Fisher's vision and generosity," said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. "Some of my favorite memories of Don were the occasions when I walked him and Doris through exhibitions at the museum and we critiqued the work on view. By challenging conventional wisdom in all its forms, he inspired us to innovate. His ambitions for our museum were very simply without limit, and it will be a great pleasure to act on the leadership that he provided in the future."

SFMOMA is organizing a major exhibition of the Fisher Collection that is scheduled to open in summer 2010 as part of the celebration of its 75th anniversary.

 

Fisher Collection Comes to SFMOMA

September 25, 2009

SFMOMA announced today the development of a groundbreaking relationship with Doris and Donald Fisher that would provide the Fisher Collection — one of the world's leading collections of contemporary art — with a home at SFMOMA.

The Fishers, who together founded Gap Inc. in 1969, have long envisioned keeping their collection intact for the public in their hometown of San Francisco. The Fisher Collection includes more than 1,100 works by leading artists including Alexander Calder, Chuck Close, Willem De Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Anselm Kiefer, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol, among many others.

"San Francisco is where we raised our family and opened our first Gap store, and we want to give back to the city we love by sharing the art that means so much to us," says Don Fisher. "Doris and I share a vision with SFMOMA to enhance its collections and programs and we are prepared to make a substantial gift to strengthen the museum's standing as one of the world's great contemporary art museums."

SFMOMA is in the planning phase for a major expansion, announced last April, that will triple the museum's gallery space. The expansion reignited the Fishers' hopes of housing their collection in San Francisco by partnering with the museum to provide the necessary space and resources. In August 2007, the Fishers proposed building a museum in the Presidio, but decided this past July not to move forward.

"We are thrilled to forge this groundbreaking partnership and bring the Fishers' outstanding collection to the people of San Francisco and the world, which will make the museum an even greater public resource and provide visitors with a deeper, fuller view of key contemporary artists and movements," says Neal Benezra, director of SFMOMA. "The Fisher collection is a perfect complement to the museum's strong holdings of artists like Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and Philip Guston, and gives us new strength in our representation of major figures like Alexander Calder, Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra, and Chuck Close."

"This extraordinary partnership with the Fisher family will greatly advance SFMOMA's standing as one of the world's leading museums for contemporary art," says Charles Schwab, chairman of the Board of Trustees at SFMOMA. "Doris and Don Fisher are longtime, valued friends and patrons of SFMOMA, and they are demonstrating the kind of vision that has fostered the development of many of the world's greatest museums and public institutions throughout history."

Upon completion of SFMOMA's planned expansion, works from the Fisher Collection will be on display in a new wing that will also incorporate art from the museum's collection. In addition, works from the Fisher Collection will be interwoven in existing galleries with SFMOMA's modern and contemporary holdings. Together, they will form one of the world's most important collections of art of the past 50 years. The Fishers will create a trust, administered in collaboration with SFMOMA, to oversee the care of their collection at the museum, renewable after 25 years.

"This amazing collection belongs right here in the City of San Francisco," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Doris and Don Fisher have made an incredibly generous offer, and SFMOMA is the ideal partner and location to house this collection. This collaboration deserves our unanimous support and appreciation. This is a gift for the ages."

Pending additional site planning and approval from local agencies, SFMOMA's expansion is now envisioned to provide the museum with an additional 100,000 square feet of gallery and public space, greatly enhancing and expanding both the presentation of art in all areas of its collections — painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, and media arts — and its educational programs. The expansion will also include 40,000 square feet of additional space, including larger and more advanced conservation facilities and an expanded library. The expansion will be located on Howard Street (between Third and New Montgomery streets), on a site bridging Natoma Street and connecting to the museum along the southern facade — creating galleries that will merge seamlessly with the existing building.

Relocating administrative support space from the museum to a new wing will provide SFMOMA with more than 13,000 square feet of new gallery and public space in the existing Mario Botta-designed building, while consolidating all staff offices to one on-site location. In addition, the expansion will include a new entry on Minna Street (which runs along the museum's northern facade) to improve access for school groups and to the museum's Phyllis Wattis Theater for public programming.

In the coming months, SFMOMA will be working with Bain and Company to develop an extensive business plan to define the impact of the enlarged facility, increased operations, and enhanced programming on the museum's expansion and annual operating budgets. The business plan will inform both the contributions to the capital campaign and endowment that will be made by the Fishers and the funds that need to be raised by the museum.

"We will be going through a period of due diligence so that we have a clear and concise picture of the funding that is needed to support this unprecedented collaboration," states Schwab. "This presents a tremendous opportunity for SFMOMA and for our city, and with it we have a responsibility to ensure that the museum has the necessary physical, financial, and staff resources in place to sustain and grow through time."

The proposed new wing at SFMOMA presents an ideal location for the Fisher Collection where it will be seen by the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the museum annually. In addition, SFMOMA is conveniently accessible to public transportation and parking, and to hotels, restaurants, and other cultural institutions in downtown San Francisco. The collaboration also minimizes the environmental impact and diffusion of resources that would result from building a new, separate institution.

Fisher Collection Exhibition in 2010

SFMOMA is organizing a major exhibition of the Fisher Collection that is scheduled to open in summer 2010 as part of its 75th anniversary celebration. On the weekend of January 16 through 18, the museum will kick off a yearlong schedule of special programs, exhibitions, and events exploring SFMOMA's impact and evolution as a leading cultural resource for the people of the Bay Area and visitors from around the world. 

About Doris and Don Fisher

Doris and Don Fisher started collecting modern and contemporary art more than 40 years ago. They have acquired in-depth holdings by artists they admire, and their collection is distinguished in its representation of the entire careers of key artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Don Fisher has been an SFMOMA Trustee since 1983 and has served on several Board committees, most recently serving as Secretary/Treasurer. Over the years, Doris Fisher has served on SFMOMA's Education Committee and also serves as co-chair of the Collector's Committee and the Trustee Council of the National Gallery in Washington, DC.