$10m donor to MFA drops his anonymity

The Museum of Fine Arts announced yesterday that George D. Behrakis, with a gift of more than $10 million, has become the biggest identified contributor yet to the MFA's planned $500 million expansion campaign.

Behrakis's gift brings the total he has given to $25 million over the last five years. The Lowell-born pharmaceuticals magnate broke with tradition in the local arts community, where many of the biggest givers are reluctant to be publicly named. For the donation, the museum will name its Art of the Ancient World wing in honor of Behrakis, 72, and his wife, Margo , the first such naming since 1915.

Museum officials praised Behrakis for being willing to publicize his contribution. In the past, they've been frustrated by the insistence of many of Boston's biggest arts donors on anonymity.

By agreeing to be named, officials said, Behrakis makes it easier for the museum to recruit donors. In addition, Behrakis has also helped broaden the MFA's donor base by recruiting people from the Greek and Italian communities to donate more to the museum, particularly by highlighting the classical art in the museum's collection.

``Listen, if you're going to go forward and be successful, you must put your name out there," Behrakis explained yesterday. ``It doesn't have to be in neon lights. But, it tells others to get off the stick, to give some money."

MFA deputy director Patricia Jacoby, who is leading the fund-raising, said Behrakis didn't hesitate when she explained why it would help the museum to be able to name a big donor.

``I asked him because we've talked an awful lot about raising the bar around town," said Jacoby. ``When you have a donor who is also willing to talk about why he's done it, it makes a huge difference."

What Behrakis won't talk about in detail is the amount of his latest gift, though the MFA confirmed that the donation would make him only the third ``guardian" in the museum's history. The title is given to those who donate $25 million or more. Behrakis has given a series of gifts over the last five years.

In 1998, Behrakis sold his last company, Muro Pharmaceutical Inc., and pledged to spend about 10 percent of his earnings from the deal on charitable causes. In 2003, Northeastern University , from which Behrakis graduated in 1957, opened a health and science center named after him. He has given $8 million to the university. Along with the MFA and Northeastern, Behrakis serves as a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

But no institution has received as much from Behrakis as the MFA. His relationship with the museum, he says, dates to high school, when his uncle, John Zaroulis , took him to see the galleries. Later, when he ran a succession of companies, Behrakis would hold parties at the museum. He became a member in 1989, a patron in 1996, and an overseer in 1998.

Then, one day in 2001, Behrakis showed up for lunch with MFA director Malcolm Rogers and handed him a sealed envelope. Inside: a check for $2 million to endow Christine Kondoleon's position as curator of Greek and Roman art.

``I like one-on-one contact with people, I don't do it by telephone or e-mail or fax," said Behrakis.

The MFA's expansion is due to be completed in 2010. Designed by the British firm Foster and Partners, the project will create a new central entrance on the side of the museum facing the Fenway, along with galleries, shops, and a 70-foot-high glass spine running through the building. Yesterday, the MFA said it had raised $352 million toward the campaign's $500 million goal.

Before Behrakis, the largest named contribution came from the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Foundation, which gave $15 million last year.

Discussing his growing passion for the MFA, Behrakis said he wanted to leave a legacy for his four children and eight grandchildren. He also spoke of his late parents, Drakoulis and Stavroula .

``They came here as immigrants, they taught us values, they taught us about education, and about the arts and culture," said Behrakis. ``They're looking down on us right now."

Rogers praised Behrakis for his contributions yesterday and said that he is particularly grateful for the donor's effort to recruit potential givers who might have an interest in Greek and Roman art.

A new wing for the ancient collection won't be built as part of the MFA's first expansion phase .

``But what [the Behrakis gift] does is set a tone for our ability to fund-raise for the renovation in the future," said Rogers.

The Behrakis contribution also makes an important statement about giving to cultural institutions in Boston, said Paul S. Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation.

``A lot of people have assumed that because of the corporate consolidation that's occurred that philanthropy will be in trouble in the years ahead," said Grogan. ``I think that's absolutely wrong. There's going to be a flood of wealth transfer in the next 25 years, and a lot of it will come from people who haven't been traditional players."

Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com