Sarasota Museum of Art receives $335,463 check from local trust

By Nick Reichert
| 11:00 p.m. February 8, 2015

Brad Goddard, K. Judson Boedecker, Larry R. Thompson and Wendy Surkis displaying the check in front of the under construction Sarasota Museum of Art.

Arts + Culture

Today the Ringling College of Art and Design and its ambitious Sarasota Museum of Art project received a substantial gift that keeps on giving.

On the front steps of the historic Sarasota High School, which is currently being renovated for its future role as the college’s modern art museum, college president Larry R. Thompson received a giant (in size and generosity) from the Cary Jay Morrison Trust for a total of $335,463. This sum combined with a financial gift of $310,000 given in October 2013 makes the total funds donated by the trust toward the Sarasota Musuem of Art equal $645,463.

Created by its namesake, Dr. Cary Jay Morrison, the trust was founded because of the retired dentist’s wish to support the Ringling College of Art and Design and its massive venture to restore the Historic Sarasota High School into a state of the art museum and educational space.

Dr. Morrison died in 2012, but his trust will continue to financially support future events and needs of the Sarasota Museum of Art on an annual basis. K. Judson Boedecker, a trustee for the Cary Jay Morrison Trust, presented the check to Thompson with Sarasota Museum of Art president Wendy Surkis and Brad Goddard of PNC Wealth Management in attendance.

“We value the commitment and dedication of our community in supporting the vision of the Sarasota Museum of Art,” said Thompson in a prepared statement, “and we are grateful for the generosity and foresight of benefactors such as the Cary Jay Morrison Trust in helping to provide the economic foundation that is making our shared vision a reality.”

With major renovation occurring since November of last year, the high school is covered in construction equipment and tools. In addition to searching for continuing sources of fundraising, the museum and college are still searching for an executive director to lead Sarasota’s new modern and contemporary art home. The future executive director will be in charge of a facility with approximately 60,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 110-seat auditorium, a sculpture court, a café space, and, of course class rooms and studios for eager Ringling students and artists.