ELIHU ROOT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENTS
Named for one of the founders of the AFA, the Elihu Root Distinguished Service Award recognizes those who have demonstrated a commitment to the AFA's mission to bring great works of art to a wide audience and strengthen the ability of museums to enrich the public's experience and understanding of the visual arts.
Marilyn Perry
Marilyn Perry joined the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York in the early 1980s. As its President since 1984, she has developed and administered a distinguished program of philanthropy focusing on the presentation, interpretation, and conservation of European art and architecture and on training and advanced scholarship in these areas. During the same period, she has taken an active role as a Trustee of the New York–based international preservation organization the World Monuments Fund, serving as Chairman of the Board since 1990. Her service to cultural heritage and the humanities has been recognized by awards from several arts organizations and an honorary degree from Pratt Institute. Under her leadership, the Kress Foundation has supported numerous AFA exhibitions and projects, including Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800–1815; Gerard ter Borch; The Drawings of François Boucher; Watteau and His World: French Drawings from 1700 to 1750; and Hot Dry Men, Cold Wet Women: The Theory of Humors in Western European Art, 1575–1700.
Tribute to the late Frederick R. Mayer
Frederick R. Mayer, former AFA Trustee and husband of long-time Trustee and Chairman Emerita Jan Perry Mayer, served on the AFA Board from 1977 to 1981. After he retired from the AFA Board, he continued to support the organization and be available for advice and counsel throughout his wife’s tenure. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Denver Art Museum for more than ten years and as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Yale University Art Gallery, generously supporting both institutions for many years. He and his wife have been listed among the world’s Top 200 collectors by ARTNews magazine with a collection that included not only their pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial Art, the majority of which they donated to the Denver Art Museum, but also works on paper and contemporary art.
Barbara Slifka
Barbara Slifka first became involved with the AFA as part of the Membership and Events Committee, a dedicated group of supporters who helped plan the AFA's trips and events for a number of years. She joined the individual membership program as a National Patron in 1985, was elected to the Board of Trustees in April 1996, and served as Chair of the Development Committee from 1997 to 2000. Her generous support of AFA initiatives, including the Building Renovation, the Campaign for the 2nd Century, and Curator's Forum, is complemented by her continued involvement in AFA activities.
Donald M. Cox
Donald Cox joined the AFA Board in 1980, serving as President from 1984 to 1989, Vice President from 1994 onward, and as an Endowment Trustee for the last twenty-two years. He chaired many committees during his tenure, bringing his business expertise and good counsel to each role he undertook. Along with his wife, Maria, he was an untiring supporter of the AFA. In 1999, they established the Donald M. Cox New Initiative Fund "for projects that expand the activities of the AFA, build new relationships with art museums, and enable the AFA to better serve them."
Gilbert H. Kinney
Gilbert Kinney’s standing as a world-class philanthropist and collector is well known. He joined the AFA Board in 1978, bringing with him the knowledge and experience gained from serving as a Trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Archives of American Art, the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, and the Yale University Art Gallery. During his many years with the AFA, he has been a member of the Development Committee, Chair of the Public Policy Committee, Vice President of the Board, and, from July 2000 to July 2006, Board President, and has been Chairman Emerita since.
Hannelore Schulhof
Hannelore Schulhof first joined the AFA Board in 1981 and has been a vital asset to the AFA community ever since. The AFA deeply appreciates her dedication to advancing our mission of creating quality art exhibitions and educational programs. Her commitment to the arts extends beyond the AFA. As avid collectors, she and her late husband, Rudolph Schulhof, built a celebrated collection of post-war and contemporary art, and her substantial philanthropic efforts include service on the boards of the National Gallery of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Margot Linton
For nearly thirty years, Margot Linton has been a steadfast champion and devoted patron of the AFA, as well as the greater arts community, and her staunch support has been invaluable. Her history with the AFA is unique, as she has served on both the staff and the board. In 1976, she joined the staff as Director of Membership. In 1986, she was elected to the Board of Trustees and has served as a Vice-President since 1993. Her involvement in the national arts community extends well beyond the AFA. She was a founder of the Friends of the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, New York, and subsequently served as the first President of the museum’s Board. She is currently a Trustee of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and the College of Santa Fe and a member of the National Committee of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. She is also on the Visiting Committee of the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Blake
Elizabeth Blake has been an inspiration to the arts community on both a local and national level for more than fifty years. As a pioneering patron of the arts, she opened the first gallery of contemporary art in Texas in 1950. She was one of the founding members of the Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art, which later merged with the Dallas Museum of Art, and a member of the Texas Commission for the Arts and Humanities. She also has served on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, the Dallas Theater Center, the National Museum of American Art, and the Newport Art Museum, among others. She was introduced to the AFA in 1952; since then, she has been a steadfast supporter and tireless promoter of our mission to produce exhibitions, publications, and educational programs of the highest caliber for museum audiences nationwide. Her long tenure as an AFA Trustee included leadership posts as a member of the Executive Committee, as President, then Chairman, and now, Chairman Emerita.
