As we approach the Taubman Museum of Art’s 75th anniversary in 2026, there is much to celebrate! For more than seven decades, we have helped open eyes, hearts, and minds through the power of art.
Together, we can ensure the Museum continues to educate, uplift, and inspire for another 75 years and beyond.
Please consider a gift to our 75th Anniversary Legacy Endowment Campaign to continue this important, mission-driven work. Our goal is to grow the Museum’s endowment by $20 million over the next five years. By supporting the Taubman, you join a special community of like-minded civic leaders who also believed in the power of art, including Roanoke’s beloved Peggy Macdowell Thomas.
In 2001, Peggy’s extraordinary estate gift changed our trajectory and scope as a Museum. She created a powerful legacy by bequeathing her acclaimed family art collection to the Taubman Museum of Art (then the Art Museum of Western Virginia). The grandniece of Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins, an American realist, painter, photographer, and sculptor, and his wife, painter Susan Macdowell Eakins, Peggy chose to keep the collection in her community rather than gifting it to more well- known museums in much larger cities.
Peggy’s gift was the catalyst for much of the growth we have experienced over the last 20 years and spurred others
to make substantial investments in the future of the Museum. It inspired significant acquisitions to the collection which has been viewed by nearly 1 million visitors. It inspired the building of a new museum by renowned architect Randall Stout. It positioned the Museum as a major asset in the region’s growth and economic development.
When realized, the 75th Anniversary Legacy Endowment Campaign will provide up to $2.5 million in renewable funding each year.
Already Made a Planned Gift to Us?
Please let us know if you’ve already included Taubman Museum of Art in your estate plans by selecting the button below or contacting Deputy Director of Development Joanna Coleman at 540-204-4132 or jcoleman@taubmanmuseum.org.
