Renata Hornstein, art philanthropist, has passed away

Renata Hornstein, a long-time Montreal philanthropist, has died a mere three months after her late husband Michal Hornstein.

Her name graces a wing of theMontreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Born RenataWitelsonin Lodz, Poland, her youth was spent fleeing the Nazis with her family. After her parents were capturedin Warsaw, she fled to Krakow, then Budapest, then Bratislava, in modern-day Slovakia. That's where she met Michal, himself on the run from theNazi onslaught.

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The couple got married in Rome after the war and began investing in their great mutual passion, fine arts.

The Hornsteins moved to Montreal in 1951 and made a fortune in real estate. They continuedto collect masterpieces and helped the Museum of Fine Arts acquire new ones.

In 2012, they donated about 80 works ot the museum, valued at more than $75 million, the largest private art donationto a museum in Quebec.

They also donated some of their fortune to several hospitals in Montreal.

"The involvement of the Hornsteinsshows anexceptional generosity to the metropolis," Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said in a statement."Theiractions helped make the city shine."