“We’re very pleased. He’s been a big supporter for years,” said Michael Loftis, treasurer of the Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees.
Loftis said the donation has been a year in the making. The board met with Deer, went over campaign plans and Deer said he wanted to be a part of it.
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“The Springfield Museum of Art has a long tradition of promoting the appreciation of art in the community, especially in the area of art education, and my hope is that this gift will help to advance this mission for years to come,” Deer said in a statement released by the museum.
He doesn’t just enjoy art but has a long history with the Springfield Museum of Art beginning back in 1946 when he won the museum’s inaugural Young Artist Award, and for a 1993 Springfield Museum of Art capital campaign, Deer underwrote construction of the Randolph H. Deer Gallery.
According to Loftis, this gift is unrestricted and gives the museum flexibility in how it uses the funds. The Art Invites campaign raises funds for renovating and right-sizing the museum’s oldest wing and for increasing the existing endowment for the facility’s maintenance.
“We were ecstatic as you could guess,” Loftis said. “This sets the museum up well for the next number of years.”
Although age 89, Deer is still quite active as he chairs multiple boards in Indiana and splits time between homes there and in Florida.
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Deer served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and became Executive Vice President of Bonded Oil here before it was sold to Marathon Oil in 1975 and served on several boards and in various service organizations over the years while residing in Springfield.
Deer later moved to Nashville, Indiana to pursue his interests in the arts, philanthropy and business. He’s done more than 200 paintings and worked with various art museums and organizations.
He is currently the chairman of the board of Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Logansport, Indiana and chairman of the board of Endangered Species Chocolate Company of Indianapolis.
“To get one person to contribute that is extremely helpful,” Loftis said. “The Deer family has done a lot for Springfield over the years and this gift is another example of that generosity.”
The Museum of Art has raised its profile in recent years with several new education programs, became a Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program and maintained sustained profitability. It also recently named a new executive director, Jessimi Jones, on Dec. 3.
Facts & Figures
1946: Year Randolph Deer won young artist award at museum
200: Number of paintings Deer has created
1952: Year Springfield Museum of Art was incorporated
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