by Adam Lord
Shira and Joseph Lipsey, III donated $1,000,000 to the LSUA Foundation to establish a perpetual endowment fund for the benefit of the Alexandria Museum of Art.
Lipsey was driven by a desire to honor his parents, Betty Fay Wellan Lipsey and Joseph Lipsey, Jr., and their lifetime of dedication to and support of the museum and the community. The gift will help ensure the museum’s success today and into the future.
The fund will be titled the “Betty Fay Wellan Lipsey and Joseph Lipsey Jr. Endowment.” Distributions from the fund are earmarked to support staffing at AMoA, providing much-needed funding to retain and attract well-qualified personnel. In their honor, the Alexandria Museum of Art will name the first-floor main gallery of the museum the “Betty Fay Wellan Lipsey and Joseph Lipsey, Jr. Gallery.”
Catherine Pears, Executive Director and Curator of the museum, said, “This gift from Joe Lipsey, and the naming of the gallery in honor of his parents, is especially heartwarming for me. Not only does the gift contribute to the sustainability of AMoA and its ability to attract and maintain its professional staff, but it also strengthens our partnership with the LSUA Foundation. The naming of the gallery to honor Betty Fay and Buddy honors their lifelong patronage of the Alexandria Museum of Art as well as Buddy’s work as Chairman of the Board during a very challenging time. I will forever be grateful to have had him by my side as we sought to turn the museum toward greater relevance for the 21st century while building resilience. Our mantra was and still is, ‘Onward and Upward!’”
AMoA will host “Love at the Museum” on Thursday, February 9, 2023, as a celebration of this gift and unveiling of the named gallery. For more information about all Museum events and exhibitions, visit https://themuseum.org/.
Pictured – Betty Fay Wellan Lipsey and Joseph Lipsey, Jr.
Photo credit – Nathan Parish
