The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University has been awarded an endowment grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Johnson Museum is the only university museum in the country to win such a grant during this award cycle.

"This NEA grant is a tribute to the reputation and achievement of the Johnson Museum," said Frank Robinson, the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the museum. "It is a sign that our collection and our educational programming are held in high national esteem."

Robinson said the $55,000 grant is designed to stimulate additional private giving to the endowment fund because it must be matched three-to-one by private donations; the museum must raise $165,000 to earn the $55,000 from the NEA.

The Johnson Museum is in a $4.5 million campaign to increase its operating endowment to support museum operations and activities. This NEA grant will directly contribute to that effort.

The museum has raised about $3.2 million of its campaign goal to date.

The museum also received two other challenge grants in this campaign: one from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which gave $425,000, with $325,000 to be raised, and one from the Harriett Ames Charitable Trust which, like the NEA grant, is a three-to-one challenge grant.

The Ames Trust will provide $150,000 for an additional $450,000 raised.

"This NEA grant is one more sign of the museum's tremendous positive momentum at the moment," Robinson said. "We are grateful for this recognition and the support it helps to generate from the art world, from Cornellians, from the Ithaca community and from the Finger Lakes region."

The NEA announced the grant to the Johnson Museum May 18 as one of more than 700 new grants totaling $25 million awarded this spring.

The Johnson Museum is considered one of the finest university museums in the country. Its collection of 30,000 works includes major holdings in Asian, American and European art. Located on the Cornell campus, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and always is free and open to the public.