ELIOT NOLEN

NOLEN--Eliot. The Trustees, staff, and volunteers of The Metropolitan Museum of Art mourn the passing of Trustee Emerita and Benefactor Eliot Nolen. Eliot's engagement with The Met began in the 1960s when, as a Volunteer guide, she conducted public walking tours and taught school groups in the galleries. Over the ensuing decades, she held leadership roles in the Museum's Volunteer Program, was a member of several curatorial departments' Visiting Committees, was the founder and Chair of The Met's Major Gifts Committee, and was an active and valued member of the Board of Trustees. Eliot became an Elective Trustee in 1984 and was elected Trustee Emerita in 2008. She served as Chair of the Education Committee of the Board from 1998-2009 and was an active member of numerous committees including the Executive Committee, the Employee Benefits Committee, the Membership Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the committee guiding the Museum's capital campaign. With her late husband, Wilson "Roly" Nolen, Eliot provided generous leadership support for a range of major initiatives throughout the Museum, including the renovation of the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, for which The Nolen Library was named in their honor, as well as significant support for Education programs, the Department of Asian Art, the American Wing, and the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. Graceful, kind, and singularly focused on the Museum's welfare, Eliot was respected and beloved by all. Her impact on The Met is lasting and evidenced throughout the institution, and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family. Candace Beinecke, Co-Chair; Hamilton E. James, Co-Chair; Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director and CEO