Jorge M. and Darlene Pérez, Miami-based collectors and philanthropists, have donated a major painting by renowned Abstract Expressionist Joan Mitchell to Britain’s Tate Modern. The roughly twenty-foot-long 1973 triptych, valued at up to $5 million, is currently on view next to Mark Rothko’s Seagram Murals.
Tate director Maria Balshaw described the gift as “transformational” and “one of the most important” ever received by the museum. “To place such a significant and valuable work in public hands is an act of incredible generosity,” said Balshaw.
Joan Mitchell gifted to Tate Modern
The Pérezes have also pledged a multimillion-dollar endowment to Tate in support of curatorial research. Additionally, they have promised to donate works by artists from across Africa and the African diaspora, including El Anatsui, Joy Labinjo, Yinka Shonibare, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Malick Sidibé, and Seydou Keïta. Jorge Pérez, who has given or pledged more than $100 million to Miami’s public art museum, told the BBC, “Our hope is always that our art is seen by the highest number of people.
The Tate has huge viewership, millions and millions of people coming in.”
This generous donation is expected to greatly enhance Tate’s collection, making significant contributions to the representation of diverse artists and the study of Abstract Expressionism. The Mitchell painting fills an important gap in the museum’s holdings, which previously included only a small group of prints and a late painting by the artist.
