Supporting Art and the Collection

Ann and Richard Gridley, long-standing patrons of arts and culture organizations in Northeast Ohio, have remained close friends of the Cleveland Museum of Art for nearly 50 years. They have supported many museum initiatives, including the CMA’s Transformation Campaign and the reinstallation of its British galleries. They have also donated three works of art to the museum’s permanent collection: a 16th-century print by Albercht Dürer (German, 1471–1528), a 17th-century print by Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635), and a stunning silver Cake Basket (1753), currently on view in Gallery 203A, a required stop for them each time they visit the museum.

Ann’s passion for art and art history took shape early in her life. She credits her high school history of art courses with inspiring her to pursue a formal education in the field. Ann attended Harvard University, earning a degree in fine arts, writing her honors thesis on the Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo (Florentine, 1462–1521); she later discovered that CMA Director William Griswold wrote his doctoral dissertation on the same artist. After graduation, Ann and Richard married and moved to London, where she worked as a freelance art researcher for Encyclopedia Britannica, answering art questions that readers had, and doing research at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum. 

The Gridleys moved to Cleveland for Richard’s job, and shortly after their arrival, Ann accepted a position in the CMA’s education department. In that role, she worked closely with curators, learning more about the collection. Although her tenure was cut short by the arrival of her second child, Ann found the experience immensely rewarding, gaining insights into the museum’s importance as a leader in the collection, care, and study of art.

Over the years, Ann and Richard have remained highly involved with the CMA as members of its Leadership Circle and the Painting and Drawing Society. They have traveled extensively in the US and Europe with the museum, including an especially memorable trip to Italy. While visiting the Uffizi, Ann was invited to speak about a work by Piero di Cosimo, giving her the unique opportunity to share her perspectives with fellow museum visitors.

Ann’s decades of involvement with the museum and at institutions throughout the region have given her a profound sense of the CMA’s relevance today as a bastion of artistic excellence, scholarship, and art education. That is why Ann has made an exceptional commitment to support the CMA’s future by establishing two endowments: one dedicated to advancing the museum’s research, acquisition, and exhibition of European art, and another to care for the CMA’s renowned collection. This remarkable gift ensures that the museum continues to inspire wonder and creativity in visitors for generations.