Benefactors give Colby College art museum a gift worth $100 million - again

Amy Calder, The Press Herald, February 2, 2017

WATERVILLE — The Colby College Museum of Art has received a gift of more than $100 million from longtime supporters Peter and Paula Lunder that college officials say will help cement the region’s reputation as a world-class arts destination.

The donation, the Lunders’ second gift of more than $100 million, includes about 1,500 works of art and will launch the Lunder Institute for American Art, whose focus will be the practice, study and exhibition of American art. As part of the institute, scholars, artists and curators will work with students from all disciplines.

Colby officials say the gift, which was announced Thursday night at a meeting of Colby trustees in Boston, helps establish Colby as the only liberal arts college with a top museum and a global research center dedicated to American art.