Albright-Knox receives massive donation, changing name

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has received a record-setting donation of $42.5 million from investment firm founder and prominent art collector Jeffrey Gundlach.

Gundlach, a Buffalo native, is now on record for the largest single private donation to a Buffalo cultural institution. The donation comes as Albright-Knox continues fundraising for its AK360 expansion project. In a press release Monday, Albright-Knox announced it increased the goal of that campaign to $125 million.

In response to the massive donation, the president of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's board of directors, Thomas R. Hyde, announced the museum would officially change its name to the Albright-Knox-Gundlach Art Museum, or AKG Art Museum.

Jeffrey Gundlach had this to say in a written statement included in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's release:

I learned about art by going to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery with my family. It was the place that first opened my eyes and mind to the endless possibilities of art and showed me that Buffalo didn’t just have the potential for greatness, but actually had a museum that was world-class. That’s why I wanted to make this challenge gift to AK360: to energize the project, give it a burst of momentum and galvanize the enthusiasm of private and foundation donors and the public sector, including the City of Buffalo, Erie County and the State of New York.

The AK360 project will add space for the museum's collection of masterworks, create "first-rate facilities" for the museum's special exhibitions and enhance the museum's place within Delaware Park.

Governor Cuomo is expected to be in Buffalo for the announcement.  

7 Eyewitness News Reporter Ed Reilly has more in his report.