KANSAS CITY, MO.- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art joins the Hall family and the Hall Family Foundation in mourning the death of business and civic leader Donald J. Hall. The 96-year-old Hall died Sunday.
“This is an enormous loss for both Kansas City and the Nelson-Atkins,” said Evelyn Craft Belger, Chair of the Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees. “Don Hall had a profound impact on this entire community and will be greatly missed. His committed leadership in the arts made a lasting difference in the lives of generations to come. He was an inspiration to all of us.”
Hall and his late wife, Adele, who passed away suddenly in 2013, were philanthropic leaders whose commitment to Kansas City was steadfast. Hall served as a member of the Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees for 31 years, and under his influence the museum modernized its governance and broadened the Board from three members to 21. Among his many accomplishments during his long tenure at the Nelson-Atkins, Hall provided funding to build a roof over Rozzelle Court, thereby creating Rozzelle Court Restaurant, and oversaw the design team for the Kansas City Sculpture Park. He was also instrumental in the design and architect selection for the Bloch Building expansion by Steven Holl, and his wife Adele led that fundraising effort.
Through the years, Hall worked quietly behind the scenes to support the acquisition of major works of art, including Modern and Contemporary, African and the landmark Hallmark Photographic Collection, which was donated in 2005. Hall significantly increased the museum’s Photography collection again in 2017. Exceedingly generous patrons, the Halls gifted the museum in 2010 with seven extraordinary works of African art from their private collection, one which they cherished and from which they regularly loaned objects to the museum.
“Don Hall has had an enormous influence on the Nelson-Atkins for many decades,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “From his involvement on our Board of Trustees to his generous gifts and steadfast stewardship, Don has left a lasting mark on the Nelson-Atkins. Because of his quest for the highest standards, the museum has become a treasure that is accessible to everyone. What an honor and a special treat it was to visit Don at his home and see the twinkle in his eye as he told me about the latest objects on which he was bidding. His passion for art only grew stronger through the years.”
In 2018, the Hall Family Foundation commissioned the installation of Walking Wall by acclaimed artist Andy Goldsworthy in honor of Morton and Estelle Sosland’s passionate and longstanding commitment to the Nelson-Atkins. The wall was built over a period of five installments in 2019, moving from the east side of the museum to its final resting place inside and outside the Bloch Building lenses and is a testament to the deep and enduring friendship among the Halls, Morton and Estelle Sosland, and Henry and Marion Bloch. Walking Wall is a culmination of the grand vision for the sculpture park that began in the 80s.
In 1983, Hall contemplated how the Hall Family Foundation could best support the museum and consulted Seymour Slive, director of the Fogg Museum at Harvard. Slive made two strategic suggestions that played to the museum’s strengths. He recommended the Foundation support the strong Asian art collection and build a monumental sculpture collection, capitalizing on the abundant land surrounding the museum.
In 1986, the Ablah family in Wichita, Kan., made available 57 works by the late Henry Moore, and Hall seized the opportunity to purchase the works through the Hall Family Foundation. A vision for a new sculpture park emerged, a new approach that would change the park’s relationship to the museum and make the park more accessible to the community. Architects Dan Kiley and Jaquelin Robertson created a design that incorporated modern sculptures into beautiful new landscaping, with terraces that led down the expansive south lawn of the museum. The museum worked closely with the Kansas City Parks Board, which held steadfast in its determination that the long, open view from the museum to Theis Mall should not be interrupted, and the new Kansas City Sculpture Park opened to acclaim in 1989.
Another landmark opportunity presented itself in 1991: the availability of Dallas real estate developer Ray Nasher’s collection of 20th-century sculpture, considered the finest private collection in the world. Seeking advice on what to acquire, the Hall Family Foundation hired Martin Friedman, director emeritus of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, to serve as its art advisor.
In the 1990s, when the museum moved toward expansion, Hall’s passionate love of architecture compelled him to lead an international pursuit of the best architect for the project, resulting in a design by Steven Holl. The Bloch Building opened in 2007 to worldwide acclaim. In 1994, the museum’s iconic Shuttlecocks were installed, further cementing the importance and reputation of the sculpture park and yet another poignant reminder of the lasting friendship of the Halls, Soslands, and Blochs, all steadfast supporters of the Nelson-Atkins.
In 2013, in recognition of Hall’s lasting legacy, the Nelson-Atkins renamed the 22-acre oasis of parkland on the museum campus the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. The park, which is home to 35 sculptures and is consistently named one of the top sculpture parks in the nation, welcomes more than 100,000 visitors each year.
