DIA News

Dedication of the Manoogian Wing

The DIA’s American galleries, on the north side of the original Paul Cret building, have been renamed the Richard Manoogian Wing in honor of the museum’s board chairman emeritus’s many years of support. He joined the DIA board of directors in 1968 as a “civic duty,” but he was soon moved by the enthusiasm of other collectors and began making his own art purchases.

“I am moved by the look and feel of a painting,” he says. “I have always collected very instinctively. A private collection is by nature very personal and, while I do rely on experts for academic information, of the thousands of works I have acquired I was involved in every one of those decisions. It was my one diversion from work.” His first American acquisition was a 1939 Andrew Wyeth, but “it wasn’t a good purchase because it was done before Wyeth became Wyeth,” he says.

Manoogian’s leadership and dedication to his business, Masco Corporation, a leading manufacturer of home improvement products, set the standard for his involvement at the DIA. He chaired the museum’s board of directors for twelve years and was named chairman emeritus in 2003. He guided the development of the museum’s master plan project, the blueprint for a recently completed $158 million renovation and expansion. His leadership gifts to DIA capital campaigns ensured that the master plan moved from the drawing board to a grand opening weekend in November of 2007 that welcomed more than 57,000 visitors to the “new” DIA.

“When I walked into the new American wing I thought it was just outstanding. The new design and colors, the grouping of the works and the way decorative arts and paintings are integrated is spectacular,” Manoogian said. He continues to refer to the space as the American wing because according to him, it’s not the name on the wall that’s important, it’s the art on that wall.

The Manoogian Endowment for American Art has been established and anyone wishing more information can contact Betty Stremich at 313.494.5237.