Couple Leaves a Generous $18 Million Legacy Donation to 3 Cincinnati Art Museums

Background: Illustration - Ɱ/CC BY 4.0; Insets: Courtesy of Ryan Kurtz

A late philanthropic couple has created a huge impact in the Cincinnati art world by leaving $18 million in legacy donations to three of the state’s major art museums, demonstrating their belief in providing access to culture and education to every member of the community.

Art enthusiast Carol Eckerle passed away in 2020. Two years later, her husband and fellow art lover, William “Bill” Eckerle, also died. Their donation comprised roughly $6 million each for the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Museum Center, and Taft Museum of Art, and was warmly received by the art community they knew so well and loved to support.

“Museums held a special place in their hearts, and they knew that their gift would leave a lasting legacy on these cultural institutions, providing for long-term financial sustainability that is so crucial for our nonprofits and the communities they serve,” said David Hausrath, member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Finance Committee at Taft Museum of Art, and Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Investment Committee at Cincinnati Museum Center, in a press release.

The main stairway of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Daderot/CC BY 1.0

The Cincinnati Art Museum has free entry. It houses 73,000 works of art spanning some 6,000 years. Cincinnati Museum Center is a multi-museum complex inside the city’s Union Terminal, a historic art deco train station, and national historic landmark, and one of the most visited museums in the country.

Taft Museum of Art in downtown Cincinnati is a 200-year-old house holding a collection that spans the Middle Ages through the 19th century, including European and American paintings, 18th-century watches, Chinese porcelains, and French Renaissance enamels.

Elizabeth Pierce, the president & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, said the Eckerles “loved exploring the treasures of our collections and seeing history in immersive detail,” and that Mr. Eckerle, in particular, was “proud” of what the region had accomplished.

Cincinnati Museum Center. Ɱ/CC BY 4.0

Cameron Kitchin, Louis and Louise Dieterle Nippert Director, said the Eckerles had an “abiding interest in the youth of our region” and in “providing opportunities to build a better Cincinnati, from the universal starting point of individual respect.”

“Their gift amplifies the power of art to interweave our community and is characteristic of the embrace they felt for our museums,” Mr. Kitchin said. “I will forever remember the warmth and optimism that surrounded them at every event and occasion at the Cincinnati Art Museum.”

Rebekah Beaulieu PhD, Louise Taft Semple President and CEO, met Mr. Eckerle shortly before he passed away and was personally impacted by his investment in the future of art. Ms. Beaulieu started working for the Taft Museum of Art in the fall of 2022 and was welcomed by Mr. Eckerle that same winter. She said they “bonded over the untapped potential to improve the experience of the museum for our community members, within and beyond our walls.”

Taft Museum of Art's Duncanson foyer. Courtesy of Ryan Kurtz

The Eckerles’ legacy donation is a huge boost to the reach of this trio of museums, both in the present and into the future.

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