NOTRE DAME, IN .- The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame has received a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support capacity-building projects and programs.

The grant is one of 12 invitational grants that Lilly Endowment is making to help Indiana art museums strengthen and enhance their ability to contribute to cultural vibrancy in their communities and regions.

Grounded in the Raclin Murphy’s new strategic plan and with detailed attention to engage all aspects of the Museum and its communities, this grant is organized around several initiatives including: research across collections areas, new membership and collection databases and systems, audience analytics and communication strategies, collection care and object display enhancements, and a unified, state-of-the art infrastructure for the Museum’s renowned collections of prints, drawings, and photographs.

“This insightful and inspirational grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. provides exceptional opportunities for the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art to fulfill its potential on many fronts for the benefit of the communities we serve, from campus to the region and beyond,” shares Director Joseph Antenucci Becherer, Ph.D. “From providing multiple scholarly research opportunities, to enhanced visitor and membership experiences, to increased accessibility and awareness of the collections and exhibitions with which we have been entrusted, this grant provides extraordinary opportunities we would otherwise not be able to realize.”

With origins dating to 1875, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (formerly Snite Museum of Art) at the University of Notre Dame is one of the oldest and most highly regarded university art museums in America. The renowned permanent collection contains more than 32,000 works representing many cultures and periods in world art history.





Through its collections, exhibitions, and programs, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art serves and welcomes all to engage in wonder, spiritual reflection, inquiry, and research. For more information, visit raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports community development, education, and religion. While the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States on an invitational basis to support these causes, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana