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Iris Cantor Plaza Opens at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum celebrated the opening of the newly established Iris Cantor Plaza. The plaza honors the decades-long commitment between Cantor and the Brooklyn museum.  The brand-new plaza serves as an inspiring gateway connecting the surrounding community to the rest of the Museum. Designed by Brook Klausing and Rebecca McMackin, the plaza features new landscaping, including wildflowers, native plants, and integrated seating. The space is versatile, accommodating activities such as yoga classes, family art-making, and rotating outdoor exhibitions. The Museum is especially important to Ms Cantor, who grew up just blocks away: “The truth is, I’ve never really been far from the Brooklyn Museum. I’ve watched it grow in stature in the art world, and as a popular destination for art lovers. I’ve taken pleasure in being a supporter over the years. And today I am incredibly proud to see this Plaza reimagined…They say you can take the girl out of Brooklyn,...

Van Gogh’s Cypresses Opens at the Met

Van Gogh’s Cypresses, made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15, 2023, with a celebration attended by over 600 guests, including art lovers, collectors, and members of the media. The exhibition features 40 paintings, drawings, and prints by Vincent Van Gogh that depict cypress trees. Rarely seen works lent from private collections are presented alongside paintings and sketches loaned from other museums....

Spirit of Eternal Repose Finds New Home at the College of the Holy Cross

The Spirit of Eternal Repose is among Rodin’s most significant works. Completed in bronze around 1898, it depicts a man in an outstretched pose with his legs crossed. The iconic sculpture joins 11 other previously gifted Rodin works from the Cantor Collection, making the Cantor Art Gallery at Holy Cross a distinctive stop for those seeking to view Rodin’s work, and an inspiration for the College’s art students. The Spirit now stands in front of the performing arts center, welcoming students inside....

Iris Cantor Theater Opens at NYU Tisch School of the Arts

New York University has welcomed the Iris Cantor Theatre, whose construction was made possible by a gift from Iris Cantor. The theater is located within the recently opened John A. Paulson Center on Houston Street, a state-of-the-art facility that houses an array of NYU academic and extracurricular activities. Dedicated to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Iris Cantor Theatre is the university’s first professional-level proscenium theater – a space where talented students can rehearse and put on world-class performances. The opening celebration on March 31 began with a short film showcasing Iris Cantor’s history of generosity to the arts, followed by remarks from Allyson Green, Dean of the Tisch School; NYU President Andrew Hamilton; and Iris Cantor herself. Speaking from the stage in her long-envisioned namesake theater, Mrs. Cantor emphasized the importance of the arts and praised the Tisch School students, who displayed their unique and impressive talents in the inaugural...

Rodin Opens at Clark Museum

In June 2022 the Rodin in the United States: Confronting the Modern Exhibition opened at the clark museum. The exhibition explores how American collectors have cherished Rodin's work. The exhibition features never before displayed works, including a sculpture loaned by Iris Cantor which includes its original pedestal selected by Rodin, a rarity in and of itself. Rodin in the United States: Confronting the Modern  ...

Construction Breaks Ground for Iris Cantor Building at Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine

The University of Arizona in Tucson broke ground in March 2022 for construction of a state-of-the-art teaching and research space for the university’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. The facility was made possible by a gift from Iris Cantor. Spanning three stories and 30,000 square feet, the Iris Cantor Building will be one of three structures comprising the complex, which is designed to embody the Weil Center’s ethos of whole-person wellness and the principles of integrative health. The three buildings will be linked by desert gardens and a series of pathways, and each will represent an aspect of the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. The project also takes into account the holistic aspects of integrative medicine by using non-toxic building materials, sound-absorbing surfaces, and windows that allow for abundant natural light. The interior and exterior design features help to emphasize movement, social relationships, healthy nutrition, sleep quality, and stress reduction,...

Carpeaux’s Fictions of Emancipation Opens at the Met

In March 2022, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened the Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast exhibition which ran through March 2023 and was made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. The exhibition was organized around a main sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875), Why Born Enslaved!, which depicts an enslaved woman looking out with anguish and defiance. A staunch abolitionist, Carpeaux sought to use his talent to depict the horrors of slavery.  Until recently it was assumed that all marble busts of Why Born Enslaved! had been lost – until one resurfaced at a Christie’s auction in Paris, where, with the help of the Cantor Foundation, the sculpture eventually made its way to the Met. Accompanying Carpeaux’s legendary bust in the exhibition were thirty-five works by other artists including Josiah Wedgwood, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, Charles Cordier, Edmonia Lewis, and Louis-Simon Boizot. These works also emphasize the theme of Western colonialism and...

The Met Celebrates its 150 Years with the Making of the Met Exhibition

In August 2020, the Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrated 150 years as a landmark cultural institution. The Making of the Met Exhibition, made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, features 250 diverse works that help showcase the history and evolution of the iconic museum. The works include rarely seen archival photographs, engaging digital features, and stories of both behind-the-scenes work and the Museum's community outreach enhance this unique experience. Making the Met Exhibition ...

Stanford Introduces Cantor Commons

In November 2019, Stanford introduced the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Commons, a new outdoor space that complements the B. Gerald  Cantor Sculpture Garden and the Cantor Arts Center. A place where students, faculty, alumni and visitors can pause and contemplate the nearby sculpture garden, the Commons reflects the Cantors’ guiding philosophy that art should be an integral part of daily life, accessible to all. Cantor Arts Center Rodin Sculpture Garden...

Iris Cantor Lauded by French President François Hollande

On March 20 Iris Cantor was celebrated by French President François Hollande in a ceremony where he bestowed on her the new rank of Officier in the French Legion d'Honneur. Mrs. Cantor, President and Chairman of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, first became a member of this august organization in 2000, when she was named a Chevalier. During the past two decades she has been repeatedly cited for her profound philanthropy and support for the worlds of culture and healthcare for women in France. Before a crowd of about 100 people -- including members of the press and of Paris' museum community, well-wishers, and friends -- President Hollande told Iris Cantor that she was "right to be passionate about Rodin. He is a beautiful companion." He went on to say, "Thanks to your love for Rodin, you and your husband have contributed to the influence of France. Therefore, because...