Honoring alumnus Grunwald, SoFA gallery to be renamed

The School of Fine Arts Gallery will be renamed the Grunwald Gallery of Art to honor John A. Grunwald, an IU alumnus and Holocaust survivor who died in 2009.

Grunwald was born in 1935 in Budapest, Hungary. After moving to New York in 1950, Grunwald came to IU six years later and completed his undergraduate degree in economics.

Though Grunwald would become an international businessman, Bloomington was his home, and he lived here for many years with his wife, Rita. It was in the SoFA Gallery that both of them fostered one of their numerous shared interests: art.

After Grunwald died, his wife, Rita, gave the gallery a significant endowed gift.

“I worked in the building for at least 25 years,” Rita Grunwald said in a press release. “I was a member of the Friends of Art since its inception and worked in the book shop for years. I feel as though I grew up in this building.”

Dr. Patrick O’Meara, IU vice president for international affairs and close friend of Grunwald’s, said if Grunwald’s passion for life had to be summed up in a few interests or activities, the task would simply be impossible.

O’Meara can give significant attributes of Grunwald from beginning to end without pause: Grunwald was a lover of animals, an international business man, an incredibly good host, a fine linguist and a Democrat to his core. And of course, he was a lover of art, particularly opera.

But if asked to identify personality traits that defined Grunwald, O’Meara has only one answer: “John was ultimately one of the most fearless people I have ever known.”

“There were many occasions where John attended gallery openings. The new talent and shifting exhibitions... John loved that,” O’Meara said.

“I was very surprised and incredibly touched,” said Betsy Stirratt, director of the gallery since 1987. “I’ve been doing this for a while, and I always hoped it (an endowment) would happen before I left. The gallery is my baby — I’ve watched it grow and
develop.”

Stirratt and Rita Grunwald first discussed the endowment and renaming in late October; by November, the decision had been made.

“This allows us to pursue ambitious projects, and most importantly, this establishes value for the gallery,” Stirratt said. “All important museums have endowments. We may look it, but I always felt we weren’t established. Now I feel we are.”

O’Meara said he agrees that this change will bring significant benefits to IU since the gallery will have new opportunities to show exhibits that may have never traveled here before. Bloomington residents will be able to experience what they would have previously missed out on.

“People give all the time for scholarships and buildings. This is giving money for a set of ideas,” he said. “Art is our legacy — a way to transcend ourselves — and it is lasting. The renaming is terribly appropriate. It resonates with John.”