FLORENCE IRVING

IRVING--Florence.

The Trustees and staff of The Metropolitan Museum of Art mourn with profound sadness the passing of Florence Irving, longtime Trustee, devoted friend, and inspirational donor for more than 30 years. With her late husband, Herbert, Florence helped transform The Met's collection and galleries through extraordinary gifts of funds and works of art. She also served as a dedicated member of many board committees, including the Acquisitions Committee, and was chairman of the Visiting Committee for the Watson Library and a longtime member of the Chairman's Council. The Irvings were most recently responsible for a transformative, landmark gift of historic proportions that will support The Met's scholarship, collection building, and programming for generations. Florence and Herb were avid collectors of Asian art for more than 50 years, and in 2015 gave much of their superb collection to The Met, making the Museum's holdings of Asian art the most comprehensive in the Western world. They also endowed a curatorial position for the Arts of South and Southeast Asia as well as a librarian position within The Met's Thomas J. Watson Library, another area that has benefited greatly from their support. In recognition of their generosity, the Museum designated the Florence and Herbert Irving Asian Wing in 2004. That same year, the Florence and Herbert Irving Reading Room was named in their honor. The Museum is immensely grateful for their vision and support, and we will miss the warmth and care that Florence so genuinely extended to The Met community. Our deepest condolences go out to her children, Jeffrey, Gail, and Ronald, and their families. Daniel Brodsky, Chairman Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO