A fascinating (and lengthy) study of artists as philanthropists was released by the Aspen Institute in November. It determined that "artist-endowed foundations are a sleeping giant of philanthropy." There are about 300 in the US, with $2.7 billion in combined assets, and are growing. The study found that half of all the assets held by artist-endowed foundations are works of art, and that hundreds of artist foundations exist as shells, awaiting an eventual bequest and hinting at an artist foundation boom to come.
Artist foundations growing
