Edythe Broad

Born in Detroit to a homemaker and chemist, Edythe Lawson attended public school and particularly enjoyed school trips to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Early artworks of importance to her include John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark, and Picasso's Three Musicians.

When Lawson was a teenager, she met Eli Broad, who proposed to her after a few dates. They married in 1954. Her father gave her husband and her cousin the money to start his first company, and the couple became significantly wealthy through this and subsequent businesses.{{Cite web|url=https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/philanthropy-magazine/article/playing-the-long-game|title=Playing the Long Game|last1=Gell|first1=Aaron|last2=Fall 2013|date=|website=Philanthropy Magazine|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030180410/https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/philanthropy-magazine/article/playing-the-long-game |archive-date=2019-10-30 |access-date=2019-10-30}} They had two sons, Jeffrey and Gary.

In 1963, Broad and her family moved to Los Angeles. Broad took walks in the evenings through the galleries on La Cienega Boulevard and began acquiring works by Southern California artists.

She met Taft Schreiber and through him encountered art dealers in New York. In 1972, Broad and her husband purchased a Van Gogh drawing entitled Cabanes a Saintes-Maries, 1888, for $95,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.flashartonline.com/interno.php?pagina=articolo_det&id_art=469&det=ok&title=ELI-BROAD|title=Eli Broad|publisher=Flash Art|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711011211/http://www.flashartonline.com/interno.php?pagina=articolo_det&id_art=469&det=ok&title=ELI-BROAD|archive-date=2011-07-11|access-date=2011-04-25}} Broad's husband Eli became increasingly involved in collecting and they increasingly concentrated their focus on postwar and contemporary art. They traded the Van Gogh in a deal to acquire a work by Robert Rauschenberg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.christies.com/features/The-Broad-Museum-Los-Angeles-Interview-7318-1.aspx|title='Life is richer when you live it among the dreamers' {{!}} Christie's|website=www.christies.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-01}}

Broad was friends with various contemporary artists in the 1970s. Lichtenstein gifted her his Brushstroke Chair and Ottoman sculptures after she admired them in his studio, and Broad and Dorothy Lichtenstein did yoga together.

Today, Broad particularly appreciates the works of Jeff Koons. Several of his works are exhibited at The Broad.

Broad and her husband financially supported various collections and art museums. In 2008, The Broad Foundation gave $30 million to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, on the condition that it not merge with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/arts/design/23moca.html|title=Billionaire Offers Arts Bailout in Los Angeles|last=Wyatt|first=Edward|date=November 23, 2008|work=The New York Times}} Broad and her husband separately supported that organisation, for which they endowed a $56 million building in 2003.

Broad also has a collection of pre-Columbian gold jewellery.

{{Main|The Broad}}

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Broad was involved in selecting Elizabeth Diller to be the architect for The Broad, the art museum that opened in 2015, via an architectural competition.David Ng and Jori Finkel (August 23, 2010), [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/08/its-official-eli-broad-will-build-his-art-museum-downtown-diller-scofidio-renfro-will-design.html It's official: Eli Broad will build his art museum downtown; Diller Scofidio + Renfro will design] Los Angeles Times.

In February 2015, a public preview of a special installation attracted some 3,500 visitors while the museum was still under construction.Kelly Crow (May 26, 2015), [https://www.wsj.com/articles/eli-and-edythe-broad-build-a-museum-for-their-art-collection-1432648768 Eli and Edythe Broad Build a Museum for Their Art Collection] WSJ.. The museum was opened by Broad and her husband on September 20, 2015.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/the-problem-with-the-broad-is-the-collection-itself/2015/09/13/05503400-5a4e-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html|title=The problem with The Broad is the collection itself|author=Philip Kennicott|date=September 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 20, 2015}}

She is featured on the audio guide for the museum.

Broad is a notable patron of classical music and opera, and is close friends with Plácido Domingo. The creation of the music venues the Broad Stage (the performing arts centre at Santa Monica College) and the Edye (an adjacent black box performance space) are credited to her. The Broads donated $6 million to the Los Angeles Opera to bring Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen to Los Angeles for the 2009–10 season.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/arts/design/08broad.html|title=Iron Checkbook Shapes Cultural Los Angeles|last=Steinhauer|first=Jennifer|date=February 8, 2010|work=The New York Times}} In June 2013, the Broads gave $7 million to continue funding the Eli and Edythe Broad general director at LA Opera.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-eli-broad-los-angeles-opera-20130626-story.html|title=Eli Broad discusses his $7 million gift to Los Angeles Opera|date=2013-06-26|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-01}}

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Edythe and Eli Broad created The Broad Foundations,[http://www.broadfoundation.org/about_broads.html Eli and Edythe Broad.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525011835/http://www.broadfoundation.org/about_broads.html |date=2016-05-25 }} The Broad Foundations. Retrieved July 18, 2013. which include The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and The Broad Art Foundation. These organizations have assets of $2.5 billion.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/eli-broad-announces-retirement/|title=Eli Broad Announces Retirement After Six-Decade Career in Business and Philanthropy|date=2017-10-13|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}

The Broads signed on to The Giving Pledge, a commitment for wealthy individuals to give at least half of their wealth to charity, in 2010 when they founded the museum.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-17/broad-commits-75-of-wealth-to-charity-takes-buffett-up-on-giving-pledge.html|title=Broad, Bloomberg Back Buffett Call for Billionaire Donations|last=Campbell|first=Dakin|date=2010-06-17|access-date=2011-04-25|publisher=Bloomberg}} They committed to giving 75% of their wealth away.{{cite web|url=http://philanthropy.com/article/A-Plea-for-Greater-Giving/66195/|title=A Plea for Greater Giving|date=2010-07-11|work=The Chronicle of Philanthropy}}

Broad and her husband supported educational causes via The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, whose stated mission is to expand learning opportunities to students from underserved communities so they can reach their full potential.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/education/|title=Education|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}

The Broads also donated a significant sum to higher education organisations, including Michigan State University (MSU), where Eli studied. They donated $28 million for the construction of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid. The museum opened in November 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/eli-and-edythe-broad-art-museum-at-michigan-state-university-opens-new-zaha-hadid-designed-building/|title=Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University Opens New Zaha Hadid-Designed Building|date=2012-11-10|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}} In 2014, The Broad Foundation announced a further $5 million gift to the Broad Art Museum at MSU to support exhibitions.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/the-eli-and-edythe-broad-foundation-gives-5-million-to-broad-art-museum-at-michigan-state-university-to-support-exhibitions/|title=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation gives $5 million to Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University to support exhibitions|date=2014-04-18|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}

Broad and her husband also contributed significant amounts towards scientific and medical research via the Broad Foundation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2020/01/20/from-buffett-to-bloomberg-the-25-philanthropists-in-america-making-the-biggest-donations/|title=From Buffett to Bloomberg: The 25 Philanthropists In America Making The Biggest Donations|last=Wang|first=Jennifer|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-04-01}} In 2003, they gave a $100 million founding gift to create the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which was to focus on genomics research.{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadinstitute.org/history|title=History|date=2008-02-28|website=Broad Institute|language=en|access-date=2019-06-25}} They subsequently gave $100 million in 2004, and then $400 million in 2009 in order to make the institute an independent nonprofit. In 2013, the Broads gave another $100 million to the organisation.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/broad-institute-launches-next-decade-with-new-100-million-gift/|title=Broad Institute Launches Next Decade With New $100 Million Gift|date=2013-11-14|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}} A public-private partnership between the voter-created California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the Keck School of Medicine of USC and The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (which donated $30 million in 2006) resulted in the creation of The Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of Southern California (USC).{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15561.html|title=USC breaks ground on cutting-edge stem cell center|last=Lewit|first=Meghan|publisher=Usc.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526155011/http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15561.html|archive-date=2011-05-26|access-date=2011-04-25}} In 2007, the Broads contributed $20 million to the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).{{cite web|url=https://www.stemcell.ucla.edu/|title=UCLA Stem Cell Institute website|date=|access-date=2016-06-22|archive-date=2022-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607194308/https://stemcell.ucla.edu/|url-status=dead}} Then, in 2008, they gave a major gift to the University of California, San Francisco for the new headquarters of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, which opened in February 2011.

In October 2013, the Broads were awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership by Philanthropy Roundtable.{{cite web|url=http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/winners_of_the_2013_william_e._simon_prize|title=Winners of the 2013 William E. Simon Prize|work=philanthropyroundtable.org|access-date=2019-10-30|archive-date=2022-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203211942/https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/winners_of_the_2013_william_e._simon_prize|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Broad and her husband were named Distinguished Philanthropists at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/eli-and-edythe-broad-named-distinguished-philanthropists-at-the-kennedy-centers-spring-gala/|title=Eli and Edythe Broad Named Distinguished Philanthropists at the Kennedy Center's Spring Gala|date=2018-05-07|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}} In the same year, they received the American Federation of the Arts Cultural Leadership award.{{Cite web|url=https://broadfoundation.org/eli-and-edythe-broad-to-receive-2018-afa-cultural-leadership-award/|title=Eli and Edythe Broad to Receive 2018 AFA Cultural Leadership Award|date=2018-05-02|website=The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}

In 2019, Broad and her husband received honorary degrees from the University of Southern California.{{Cite web|url=https://hscnews.usc.edu/commencement-2019-eli-edythe-broad-to-receive-honorary-degrees-at-usc-ceremony/|title=Commencement 2019: Eli, Edythe Broad to receive honorary degrees at USC ceremony|last=Masatani|first=Melissa|website=HSC News|date=11 March 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-25}}

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Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American art collectors

Category:21st-century art collectors

Category:American women art collectors

Category:Philanthropists from Michigan

Category:People from Detroit

Category:21st-century American philanthropists

Category:People associated with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Category:1936 births