MFA, prepared to "top off"

We've reported on much of the news that came out of today's annual meeting at the Museum of Fine Arts. But it's at least worth noting the numbers.

The now $504 million campaign, which took seven years to finish, included gifts from 25,674 people. In the final year, the MFA raised $93 million. The "topping off" moment is set for the end of September. That's when the final steel girder is put in place, and all sorts of dignitaries gather to celebrate.

Also worth noting...

The MFA's "Gifts of Art Campaign" has scored nearly 10,000 gifts of art that the museum values at more than $140 million. This year, those gifts included the John Axelrod Collection, which is made up of "nearly 400 American Modern decorative arts from the middle half of the 20th century and is one of the premiere collections of its type in the nation," according to an MFA release. Axelrod is an honorary overseer, by the way. The gifts campaign also includes a collection of 359 works from Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf. Jean is an honorary overseer, Fred an honorary trustee.