Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Visual Arts

Programs

Collection, Scholarship, Education

The Foundation advances Dehner's legacy through four core activities: placing her work in the permanent collections of public institutions; supporting scholarship and exhibitions about Dehner; ensuring her papers and archives remain accessible to researchers; and making grants in support of visual-arts education.

Collection Gifts

Selected Works in Public Collections

Over three decades, the Foundation has gifted Dehner's sculpture, prints, and drawings to the permanent collections of institutions across the United States. Each gift ensures that her work remains accessible to the public, to scholars, and to future generations. A selection of works donated by the Foundation includes:

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

    • Still Life with Shells, 1931 (painting)
    • Embryi, 1953 (print)
    • Ancestors, 1954 (print and copper plate)
    • Nocturne, 1954 (print)
    • Bird Machine #2, 1953 (print)
    View all works at the Met →
  • The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

    • Encounter, 1969 (sculpture)
    • New City, 1953 (drawing)
    View all works at MoMA →
  • Brooklyn Museum, New York

    • River Landscape #3, 1958 (print)
    • Letter to Minos, 1986 (print)
    • Untitled (prehistoric creature), 1945 (tempera on board)
    • Untitled (Brooklyn waterfront), 1935 (drawing)
    View all works at the Brooklyn Museum →
  • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia

    • Untitled, 1960 (sculpture)
    View work at PAFA →
  • deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (The Trustees of Reservations), Lincoln, MA

    • Fortissimo, 1993 (sculpture)
    View Fortissimo
  • The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY

    • Life on the Farm Series: Schenectady, New York, c. 1943 (painting)
    • Damnation Series: Attack, 1946 (drawing)
    • Untitled, 1947 (watercolor and ink)
    • Bolton Landing Landscape, 1945 (watercolor)
    • River Landscape #3, 1953 (etching)
    • River Landscape #2, 1954–56 (etching)
    View all works at The Hyde Collection →
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

    • Queen, 1960 (sculpture)
    • Life on the Farm: Cooling Off in Schenectady, 1943 (painting)
    • Untitled drawings, 1948–1955
    View all works at the Cleveland Museum of Art →
  • The Art Students League of New York

    • Works gifted

Support for Arts & Education

Grants in Visual-Arts Education

The Foundation directs grant support to organizations that advance visual-arts education and make art accessible to broad audiences. We also support the conservation of Dehner's artwork. Recent grants have been awarded to:

  • The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY

    Conservation of Sanctum with Window II (1991), a thirteen-foot painted steel sculpture, led by conservator Marc Roussel (2025). Read more →

  • Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art

  • deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

  • Madison Square Park Conservancy

  • CityArts

  • The Art Students League of New York

The Foundation's grant focus is visual-arts education. We do not accept unsolicited grant applications and do not have an application form or deadline.

Publications & Archive

Selected Bibliography

Dehner's work has been the subject of sustained scholarly attention across six decades — in reference works, museum catalogues, journals, and the popular press. Archives of her papers are held at the Smithsonian Institution and Storm King Art Center.

View full bibliography →