Famed Sacramento painter Wayne Thiebaud stressed the value to students of a new art museum planned for UC Davis.
"A university museum will allow students to experience works of art first-hand in a way that is not possible with reproductions," Thiebaud, professor emeritus at UC Davis, said in a university press release. "It is this kind of experience that is essential to the university's teaching mission. As a teacher, I am delighted to know that this gift will make the museum a reality."
The University of California, Davis received a $10 million gift to name the new art museum, which would serve as a teaching resource and exhibit its fine arts collection. The new Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Farrow Museum of Art would house artwork from Thiebaud and also those of Robert Arneson, Roy De Forest and William T. Wiley.
Benefactor Shrem, born in Colombia of Jewish-Lebanese parents, grew up in Jerusalem and moved to this country as a teen. He studied enology at the University of Bordeaux and developed the Clos Pegase winery.
"Our philosophy of giving rests on simple concepts: We believe that education and the arts should be accessible to all people," said Shrem. "And we believe that a curious and open mind should be nurtured and supported."
Manetti Farrow was born in Italy and moved to the US in 1973. She is said to have revolutionized the high-end accessory market by creating and managing the US and Canadian distribution for premium leather goods by designers such as Gucci.
"Both Jan and I came to this country as young people, more or less the same age as the students at UC Davis," Manetti Farrow said. "And we both remember what it was like to begin life all over again in a new world where education was our salvation and the arts were our greatest joy. Everything that is being planned for the new museum of art suggests it will become an integral part of the university, the curriculum and the community. We also believe it will become the heart of the campus, a place where people can come to study, to learn, to look and to be moved by the beauty and strength of the arts."
The $10 million donation allows UC Davis to begin the design phase of the $30 million construction project.
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