WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has received a gift of $1 million from artist and philanthropist Basil Alkazzi for the acquisition of paintings and drawings by contemporary American and British artists.

“We are grateful for Mr. Alkazzi’s incredible generosity,” said Kerry Brougher, Hirshhorn interim director and chief curator. “His gift will allow the Hirshhorn to significantly enhance its holdings of hand-painted paintings and drawings by key figures in the U.S. and U.K. As we celebrate and highlight our collection this year during our 40th anniversary, we are thrilled that thanks to the public-spiritedness of donors like Basil Alkazzi this collection will continue to grow and be a lasting legacy to the nation.”

Alkazzi (British, b. Kuwait, 1938) commented that he made this substantial donation because of his admiration for the commitment shown by the Hirshhorn to emerging artists. “Works of art are in fact the tangible manifestations of man’s highest aspirations—to create a sort of ultimate beauty and to visually express all intangible and elusive moments,” said Alkazzi. “The Hirshhorn, a small big museum in the heart of America, is the ideal home for my gift.”

Alkazzi is a respected artist himself and is represented in the Hirshhorn’s collection by the gouache “Ezra - With Love II” (1991). His philanthropic contributions to the arts include the endowment of the Basil H. Alkazzi Foundation Awards at the Royal College of Art in London and the establishment of the Basil H. Alkazzi Award for Excellence at the New York Foundation for the Arts.