Jerome Chazen, fashion industry leader who helped UW art museum grow, dies at 94 | Local News

Jerome Chazen, a UW-Madison graduate who went on to co-found Liz Claiborne Inc., and donated $25 million to fund the growth of the campus artwork museum named after him and his spouse, died Sunday at age 94.

“Jerry was deeply dedicated to the humanities and to training,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Clean stated in a press launch, including that Chazen was somebody who discovered nice pleasure in introducing new audiences to the artwork world.

“His dedication to UW–Madison will dwell on within the Chazen Museum of Artwork and the numerous lives he touched,” she stated.

The free museum at 750 College Ave., close to Park Avenue, was based because the Elvehjem Artwork Middle in 1970 and have become the Elvehjem Museum of Artwork in 1978.

It was renamed the Chazen in 2005 after Jerry and Simona Chazen, his spouse of 72 years, made the lead reward within the museum’s growth in 2011.

The couple met once they have been attending UW.

The Chazen is the most important gathering museum within the Large Ten and the second-largest artwork museum in Wisconsin.

“I’m deeply saddened by the information of Jerry Chazen’s passing,” stated museum director Amy Gilman. “Since my arrival on the Chazen in 2017, Jerry was instrumental in offering steering and assist as I navigated my position as director and I’ll miss his candor and knowledge. He was a power in each a part of his life — enterprise, household, artwork gathering, philanthropy — and maybe his most profound legacy will likely be his eternal pursuit of his passions.”

As alumni, within the Eighties, the Chazens grew to become lively with the Elvehjem. By 1997, Simona had joined its advisory council. In 2000, the couple made their first reward of artwork to the museum, Harvey Littleton’s Purple Squared Descending Type (1982).

Collectively they served on the museum’s advisory council for greater than 20 years. The Chazens gave many artistic endeavors to the museum and a big a part of their exceptional assortment will ultimately enter the gathering, based on UW-Madison.

Chazen was born in New York Metropolis and obtained his bachelor’s diploma in economics from the UW in 1948. He credited a UW–Madison artwork historical past course with awakening his curiosity within the visible arts.

A funeral service will likely be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday Japanese Time at Riverside Memorial Chapter in Manhattan and by way of livestream at www.legacycelebrated.com/jerome-chazen/.