NEW YORK, NY.- World Monuments Fund announced the honorees to be recognized at its 2011 Hadrian Award Gala, which will be held at The Plaza, in New York City, on October 27.

This year’s Hadrian Award will be presented to Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, in recognition of their roles as leading international philanthropists in the worlds of art and culture, science and medicine, and Jewish heritage preservation—including the establishment and support of WMF’s Jewish Heritage Grant Program.

In addition, the organization’s newly established Watch Award, which recognizes advocacy and activism in advancing the work of WMF, will be given to Marcela Pérez de Cuéllar. A longtime activist on behalf of heritage preservation in her native Peru, Mrs. Pérez de Cuéllar is being honored for her leadership role in WMF’s work in that country.

Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder are among the world’s most prominent philanthropists and arts patrons. Mr. Lauder, who from 1986 to 1987 was U. S. Ambassador to Austri —where he played an active role in the restoration of the Vienna Secession building—is deeply committed to Jewish heritage. In addition to founding WMF’s Jewish Heritage Grant Program, he serves as chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Heritage Council, and the Sakharov Archives at Brandeis University, among numerous other affiliations. An internationally recognized patron of the arts, Mr. Lauder was chairman of The Museum of Modern Art from 1995 to 2005. In 2001 he established the Neue Galerie New York, a distinguished museum devoted to German and Austrian art, of which he is president.

Mrs. Lauder has long been devoted to active support of the arts and civic causes. She has a distinguished history of work with The Museum of Modern Art, having served as president of the International Council, chairman of the Contemporary Arts Council, founder of the Junior Associates, and member of numerous Trustee Committees, among other activities. Her commitment to promoting American culture is most clearly evidenced in her work as chairman of the board of directors of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, which works with the U.S. Department of State to contribute fine and decorative art to U.S. embassies across the globe. Mrs. Lauder is also a board member of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Independent Curators International, New York City; and Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City.

The Lauders’ philanthropy has also enabled the creation of the Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Center for Maternity Care, both at Mt. Sinai Medical Center.

Marcela Pérez de Cuéllar has been affiliated with WMF since 2001, helping to make possible the restoration of the important Baroque churches of San Juan Bautista de Huaro and San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas, both in Cuzco, among other projects. Mrs. Pérez de Cuéllar, whose husband, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, is the former Secretary General of the United Nations, has traveled to more than 100 countries, visiting a diversity of heritage monuments, from the famous to the little-known. In the process, she has gained a deep understanding of the benefits that heritage preservation provides to local communities. Mrs. Pérez de Cuéllar has led WMF’s Peru Committee—the organization’s national program there—since its establishment in 2010. In this capacity, she oversees WMF’s eight current projects in Peru, raises funds for future endeavors there, and works to broaden the organization’s outreach in both that country and elsewhere in South America. Prior to her work with WMF, Mrs. Pérez de Cuéllar
advanced the preservation of numerous Peruvian heritage sites,
including Chan Chan, the world’s largest known adobe city.