A Gift to the Cleveland Community

Sally and Larry Sears have been devoted members and benefactors of the Cleveland Museum of Art for more than 40 years, playing a vital role in its continued growth and impact. Specifically, their support of the CMA’s educational initiatives, most notably the establishment of the Sally and Larry Sears Fund for Education, has significantly expanded the museum’s ability to provide high-quality arts education to students and adults throughout the region. 

Sally, the first woman elected board chair of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Larry, a current trustee and lecturer at Case Western Reserve University, first connected with the CMA through their children. From early childhood art classes and holiday programming to collection displays and exhibitions such as Paul Klee, Viktor Schreckengost and 20th-Century Design, and Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, the offerings at the museum became a cherished part of their family life. 

Later on, as participants in the museum associates program, Sally and Larry learned more about the CMA’s longstanding commitment to arts education, which dates back to before the museum even opened its doors. Through the program, they also met the museum’s incredible staff and educators whose work brings transformational experiences to audiences far and wide. These encounters gave them a profound appreciation for the museum’s role in nurturing Cleveland’s vibrant arts and culture scene.

To Sally and Larry, arts education is essential. It enriches lives, promotes academic achievement, supports social and emotional development, and can inspire a child to pursue a career in the arts. Their belief in its importance only deepened when their daughter chose to pursue a career as an art historian. To their delight, when the CMA launched a pilot project to research the provenance of paintings in its American and European art collections, she was selected as the museum’s first provenance researcher, further strengthening their family’s connection to the CMA.

More recently, Sally and Larry have come to know the CMA’s Community Arts Center, on Cleveland’s near west side, through their grandchildren, who insist on visiting every time they are in town. These visits have given Sally and Larry a firsthand look at the unique scope and quality of the CMA’s educational efforts. Inspired by what they have seen, they have chosen to build on their prior support by endowing the position now named Sally and Larry Sears Director of Community Arts, currently held by Jordan Jiménez. To Sally and Larry, the Community Arts Center and its programs are a vital asset and a wonderful gift to the community. They are honored to support its mission through this monumental gift.