BofA Awards Critical Funding for Conservation of Historic Artworks

The Art Conservation Project will help restore art from around the world; Sydney Opera House and National Portrait Gallery among recipients

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 29, 2025 /CNW/ -- Sixteen cultural institutions have been named as grant recipients of the 2025 Bank of America Art Conservation Project. The selections represent a wide array of artistic styles, media and cultural traditions across the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. 

William Willard, American, 1819–1904, The Penny Image of Abraham Lincoln, 1864, Oil on canvas, 24" x 20", Accurate, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. David A. Morse

Bank of America's Art Conservation Project began in 2010 to help address the critical need to preserve artwork for future generations.  Since then, more than 275 grants have been awarded in 40 countries to conserve paintings, sculptures, works on paper, manuscripts and archeological pieces.

This year's projects include:

• Possum Dreaming by Michael Nelson Jagamara and Salute to Slessor's 5 Bells by John Olsen at the Sydney Opera House
• The Blinding of Samson by Rembrandt Harmensz Rijn at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt
• A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth at Sir John Soane's Museum in London
• More than 100 paintings of American Presidents at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
• La Debutante by Roberto Matta at the Museo de Artes Visuales in Chile
• Triptych on the East Wall of the Rothko Chapel in Houston
• The Henriot Family by Pierre-Auguste Renoir at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia
• Roadwork by McArthur Binion at the Detroit Institute of Arts
• Zun Wine vessel in the shape of an owl at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
• Eagle Eye by Nam June Paik at the Ackland Art Museum at UNC at Chapel Hill
• Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks by Claes Oldenburg at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven
• Black Book of Hours (Horae beatae marie secundum usum curie romane) at the Hispanic Society of America, conserved in partnership with the TEFAF Restoration Fund
• Six Gothic artworks at the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico City
• Ezechiel stained glass windows at Sainte Chapelle in Paris
• Tableau Tir by Niki de Saint Phalle at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm
• Watching the Tidal Bore by Komuro Suiun at the Yamatane Museum of Art in Japan

"Art reflects the creativity, ingenuity and history of the people who created these works – and like everything, art is vulnerable to the passage of time," said Brian Siegel, Global Arts, Culture & Heritage Executive at Bank of America.  "Together with some of the world's finest cultural institutions, we can help preserve these works for future generations."

Watch Brian's full message.

Each project is unique, and many rely on a wide range of advanced conservation techniques to restore and preserve them. For more details on the 2025 Bank of America Art Conservation Project recipients and what each conservation project entails, please view the 2025 Art Conservation brochure (PDF).

Previous Art Conservation Project grants have been used to restore iconic pieces by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Sam Gilliam and Jenny Holzer, as well as many other artists whose work holds great importance to cultural heritage and the history of art.

Bank of America supports and partners with a wide range of arts-focused nonprofit organizations to bridge our shared history, create opportunities, and generate local economic impact as one aspect of the bank's many efforts to drive Responsible Growth.

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SOURCE Bank of America Corporation