Michal Hornstein, Montreal art patron, dies

The philanthropistwhose name will grace anew wing of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has died, just months before its opening.Michal Hornstein was 95 years old.

• Montreal Museum of Fine Arts expands to house Hornstein collection

Hornsteinarrived in Montreal in 1951 with his wifeRenata. The couple had been living inBratislava, where they met after having both spent the Second World War evadingtheNazis.

Hornsteinwas actually captured in his native Poland in the early years of the war. But he managed to jump from a train headed toAuschwitz, hiding in the forests ofCzechoslovakia and Hungary until the end of the war.

Once in Canada, he made a fortune in real estate development.

The Hornsteins became prominent patrons of majorMontreal institutions, including hospitals and universities. But the couple is most closely associated with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA).

Hornsteinhadserved on its board of trustees, almost continuously,since 1970. He also played an important role raising funds for the museum's collection, as well as contributing to it himself.

According to the museum,Hornsteinpersonallydonated some 420 works of art, and played a role in the acquisition of 23 others.

"For Renata and me, the creation of a collection is more an act of love than a commercial transaction,"Hornstein said during a 2004 speech.

"Art fills us with joy and gives us a real sense of accomplishment. Growing our collection has been one of our grandest adventures."

In 2012, the couple announced it was donating its collection of 75 Old Master paintings to the museum, a gift estimated to be worth $75 million.The MMFA described it as the largest ever private donationto a Quebec museum.

"This city gave me so much,"Hornsteinsaid in 2012. "I loveMontrealers, I loveQuebecers... This gift is a sort of thank you."

The Old Masters collection is to be housed in the Michal and RenataHornsteinPavilion for Peace, which isscheduled to open in early November. The couple's name also graces an existing pavilion, which houses galleries dedicated to Asian and Islamic art.

"Todaythe museum lost a friend, an advisor without equal, a donor and a renowned collector," Brian Levitt, chairof the MMFA's board of trustees, said in a news release.