Jan Shrem, philanthropist who left generational arts legacy at UC Davis, dies at 94
Jan Shrem, whose passion for the arts, his philanthropy and the museum that bears his name were synonymous with the arts and arts education at UC Davis, has died.
Officials at the University of California, Davis, announced Shrem’s death Thursday. Shrem died in September at 94.
“Jan’s deep joy for life inspired all who had the pleasure to know him, and his love for the arts has forever transformed our community,” said UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May.
Shrem, with his wife, the international arts patron Maria Manetti Shrem, forever imprinted their legacy with the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, the dynamic contemporary art gallery and education space that today with the neighboring Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts are campus flagships.
The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art opened in 2016. The space is free for all.
“Our philosophy of giving rests on simple concepts,” Shrem said in 2011 on awarding the couple’s naming gift. “We believe that education and the arts should be accessible to all people and that a curious, open mind should be nurtured and supported.”
That arts education mission quickly became a mainstay, Shrem’s imprint ever present on the Davis campus. At his namesake museum, classrooms, a lecture hall and art-making studio share space with the creations on view.
“Jan was truly one of a kind,” said Rachel Teagle, the museum’s founding director. “His generosity, infectious enthusiasm and adventurous spirit are embodied in every aspect of our museum.”
The couple established what would become the most extensive artist residency program of its kind in the country with the California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies.
In May, Maria Manetti Shrem funded eight new endowments and programs in arts, arts history and sustainable design. Her $20 million donation will create the Maria Manetti Shrem Arts District within the College of Letters and Science. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for late January 2025.
“Maria and Jan’s generosity has been nothing short of transformational at UC Davis,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations. “Jan’s memory will live on as a beacon of philanthropy in action, one which will profoundly influence future artists and inspire all students, no matter their field of study.”
Jan Isaac Shrem was born in 1930 in Colombia, the son of Jewish-Lebanese parents. He immigrated to United States at 16, but relocated to Japan after his collegiate years at the University of Utah and UCLA. He founded a company specializing in selling English-language encyclopedias, engineering and art books that would grow to 50 offices across Japan.
“In college, I used to sell encyclopedias door to door,” Shrem recalled in an oral history for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “I had this passion for books which was contagious. I was able to make a lot of money selling books. While studying for my master’s degree at UCLA, I met a Japanese girl. I felt in love, and I asked her to marry me, but she said she needed her parents’ permission.
“She took me to Japan, but her parents said, ‘No.’ So she abandoned me, but had I gone back with her, I would not have made a fortune in Japan in the book business.”
He stayed in Japan for 13 years and met his first wife, Mitzuko. They were married for four decades before her 2010 death and had lived in France and Italy, where the couple became interested in wine, Shrem said.
The pair returned in the 1980s to California and the Napa Valley, establishing Clos Pegase Winery in 1983. It would soon become known as a showcase for his collection of paintings and sculptures.
Shrem and Manetti were friends first, bonding over art, music and wine, the university said in its remembrance. They would marry Feb. 14, 2012, in San Francisco. Shrem sold his Calistoga winery the following year.
Napa Valley neighbor Margrit Mondavi, wife of the Napa winemaking legend Robert Mondavi, whose imprint is also deeply felt on the UC Davis campus, helped connect Shrem and Manetti to the university. Margrit Mondavi died in 2016 at 91.
The Mondavis had given the naming gift for the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. An additional $2 million was gifted for a contemporary art museum. She then called Shrem and Manetti.
“Jan Shrem found his greatest inspiration in the arts, and his efforts to share that inspiration at UC Davis will be felt for generations,” said Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Letters and Science. “He was a true partner in making education and the arts accessible to everyone.”
In lieu of flowers, Maria Manetti Shrem requests donations be made to UC Davis’ Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 6:43 PM.
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