“Bev is one of the most prominent supporters of the arts in our city’s history,” VCU President Michael Rao said in a statement, adding that she was “a catalyst in bringing innovative and inspiring works of art to Richmond for many years.”

She was tireless in the effort to create the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, which will open in 2016. The first floor gallery has been named in her honor.

Mrs. Reynolds helped to establish The Pollak Society, named for the founder of the VCU School of the Arts. It supports VCU, the nation’s leading public university graduate art school.

She served on the boards of the Arts Council of Richmond, the VCU Friends of the Anderson Gallery at the University of Richmond, and the Richmond Children’s Museum.

In 2007, the YWCA honored her with an Outstanding Woman Award. She was named a National Philanthropy Volunteer of the Year in 2012.

Born in Wilmington, Del., to Canadian-born parents, Beverly Lynn Ward was reared in Chicago and Washington.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee and studied art history at Richmond Professional Institute, now part of VCU. Adventurous all of her life, she headed to New York City after graduation.