MONHEGAN, Maine — A Maine museum has matched a $1 million challenge grant nearly a year ahead of schedule.
The Monhegan Museum of Art & History, which is devoted to the artistic heritage of Monhegan Island, received the challenge grant from the Wyeth Foundation two years ago and hoped to complete the matching fundraising efforts by the end of 2020.
Robert Stahl, co-director of the museum, said the institution was able to match the foundation's grant thanks in part to the credibility Jamie Wyeth and his late wife, Phyllis Mills Wyeth, the Portland Press Herald reported. Stahl said that others quickly offered to give after the Wyeths endorsed the campaign with their initial gift.
Donations poured in from across the nation and allowed the museum to match the largest grant received in its history 10 months early.
Stahl called Jamie Wyeth, a painter and the son of iconic artist Andrew Wyeth, “a force in American art.” He and his late wife spent their summers on the Maine coast.
The $2 million raised will be used for capital improvements and museum operations.
The museum is open seasonally, beginning in late June.
The Associated Press
