Founders Ron and Ann Pizzuti are donating the contemporary art museum to the Columbus museum, effective January 1. Museum executive director Nannette Maciejunes calls the acquisition of the 18,000 square-foot space, "completely transformational.".

About three years ago, the Columbus Museum of Art added 50,000 square feet to its East Broad Street building at a price tag of $37.6 million.

On Jan. 1, the museum will acquire an additional 18,000 square feet near the Short North at no cost.

That's when Ron and Ann Pizzuti, founders of the 5-year-old Pizzuti Collection, will donate the contemporary art museum — and 40 works of art — to the Columbus Museum of Art.

The gift — whose value places it among the three largest museum donations ever — was announced Friday evening during an anniversary celebration for the Pizzuti Collection.

“We’ve always known that at least part of the collection was going to go to an institution, and so this makes sense,” said Ron Pizzuti, chairman and CEO of the Pizzuti Cos., a real-estate development company. “The (Columbus) museum has grown, and the new wing has created a totally new environment — and this (donation) will certainly complement the new wing.”

Museum Executive Director Nannette Maciejunes raved about the gift, something she and the Pizzutis had discussed often in recent months, she said.

“I argued that we would be stronger if we could work together, so this is a great dream for me,” said Maciejunes, who then underscored the significance of the donation.

"It is completely transformational for the museum. This totally re-positions us in the art world in terms of a contemporary program ... and we couldn’t do that without the Pizzuti Collection and without Ron and Ann — and we’re thrilled.”

The Pizzuti Collection occupies a 1923 building on North Park Street that was appraised at $5.75 million in 2013, the year the venue opened. Ron Pizzuti, 78, said the building will be deeded in December to the museum.

Although Pizzuti declined to reveal the value of the donated artworks, museum officials said the Pizzutis' gift is among the top three in the museum's 140-year history.

“I don’t think we can express enough our sincere and deep gratitude to the Pizzuti family,” said Michael Martz, president of the museum board of trustees.

In 1991, the Sirak family of Bexley made an $8 million donation-purchase agreement with the museum for 78 works, which were valued at $80 million at the time. In 2006, Margaret and Robert Walter donated $10 million, leading to the opening in October 2015 of the Margaret M. Walter Wing.

Maciejunes is pleased that the Columbus Museum of Art will have a presence near the Short North, but she acknowledged the challenge in overseeing two buildings that are a mile-and-a-half apart.

The Pizzuti Collection has exhibitions scheduled through June 2021, a lineup that will be retained. The three full-time Pizzuti Collection employees, Maciejunes said, will keep their jobs.

Beginning in January, she said, museum members will get into the Pizzuti Collection for half price, and vice versa.

“I think of the first year as being very much like a beta-test year,” she said. “We’ll work all that through.”

The Pizzutis began collecting art in the early 1970s, storing much of their collection in a warehouse until opening the Pizzuti Collection.

Since then, the venue has presented 16 exhibitions, highlighting more than 200 artists from 40-plus countries.

The 40 artworks Pizzuti will donate are by seven artists: 34 by Robert Buck and one apiece by Alexandre Arrechea, Jim Dine, Jean Dubuffet, Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta and Sudarshan Shetty.

“One of our big hopes is that this donation will stimulate interest among other collectors in the community to donate works to the museum," Pizzuti said.

Maciejunes praised the Pizzutis for their contributions to the Columbus art scene.

“What’s really important is the legacy of the Pizzuti Collection and also the even-broader legacy of Ron and Ann in our community,” she said. “We wouldn’t be the art community we are without Ron and Ann.”

kgordon@dispatch.com

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