BOSTON.- Yesterday, at a Board of Trustees meeting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), it was announced that the Museum has reached its $500 million campaign goal. In addition, Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA, stated that in recognition of Joyce and Edward Linde’s gift to the campaign and deep commitment to community arts education, the Museum’s West Wing will be named the Linde Family Wing. Rogers also announced that the new 150-seat auditorium in the American Wing will be named in honor of Barbara and Ted Alfond, in acknowledgement of their generous gift to the campaign and passion for museum learning. The final total for the Building the New MFA campaign will be announced on September 15 at the Museum’s annual meeting. The fundraising effort, which began in July 2001, represents the largest campaign for a cultural organization in Boston.

“This is an important moment in the Museum’s history; the success of this campaign is a testament to our many generous donors, their passion for art, and their support of the vision for the future of this Museum. We are very appreciative of the generosity of everyone who has given to the campaign, including longtime friends Joyce and Edward Linde and Barbara and Ted Alfond,” said Rogers. “By achieving our campaign goal, we can move forward in transforming the Museum with a new American Wing, an innovative wing for Contemporary Art, and inviting spaces for visitors to gather, learn and enjoy the beauty of the Museum’s treasures.”

The newly named Linde Family Wing (currently the West Wing, and home to the Gund Gallery for temporary exhibitions, Museum Bookstore and Shop, Remis Auditorium and the Galleria) was designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1981. With the completion of the Building Project, the Linde Family Wing will be a dynamic space for Contemporary Art and innovative programming, as well as an entry point for school and community groups coming to learn from the Museum’s encyclopedic collection. Joyce and Edward Linde are longstanding supporters of the MFA; Mrs. Linde has served as a Trustee since 2001, and was the former and founding chair of the Gifts of Art campaign. The Linde Family Foundation’s visionary grant for community arts programming has resulted in the establishment of the MFA’s Community Arts Initiative.

The Barbara and Ted Alfond Auditorium will be a state-of-the-art venue for films, concerts, and lectures, broadening the range of programs the MFA will offer and increasing the audiences the Museum will reach. The Alfonds are committed to education; they endowed the Alfond Director of Museum Learning position in 1998, and have dedicated themselves to supporting the development of creative and innovative programming at the MFA. Mrs. Alfond is the President-elect of the Museum’s Board of Trustees, served as the Campaign Co-Chair, and was the former chair of the MFA Associates.

“The completion of our campaign is due in great measure to the dedication of the MFA’s Trustees and loyal supporters who through the years have understood the importance of the Museum’s mission, to bring great works of art and people together,” said Patricia Jacoby, Deputy Director, External Relations at the MFA and its Campaign Director. “We thank all of our donors for their enthusiasm to bring great art to visitors from Boston and around the world.”

More than 50 percent of the $500 million for the campaign was raised from MFA Trustees. Gifts of $10 million or more have been received from Barbara and Ted Alfond, and Joyce and Edward Linde, as well as George D. and Margo Behrakis, the Estate of Roberta G. Logie, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, three anonymous gifts, and State Street Corporation. (The Museum recently marked the first construction milestone of the Building Project when it opened the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance and the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Center on June 20.) Other corporate leaders who have donated $1 million or more to the campaign include Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Liberty Mutual, Merrill Lynch and United Technologies Corporation. In total, more than 25,000 gifts were given to the campaign—6,680 of these were from first-time donors to the Museum, many of whom were responding to the MFA’s $1.5 million Kresge Challenge Grant for education.

The MFA’s campaign was designated to support substantial building and renovation enhancements to the Museum, as well as the endowment for programs and positions in perpetuity, and support critical annual operations. The Building Project, designed by architects Foster + Partners (London), features the addition of a 50,000-square-foot American Wing, the creation of the glass-enclosed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, and the expansion of space for Contemporary Art. Also included will be a new Ann and Graham Gund Gallery for rotating exhibitions; the addition of educational facilities, visitor amenities, and conservation labs; and the renovation of existing galleries. The Building Project is expected to be completed in late 2010.