Palm Beach couple's $4M gift to Penn State museum intended to foster inclusion, diversity

Palm Beach residents Will Ameringer and Kevin Byrne are the donors of a $4 million gift to Penn State's Palmer Museum, the university announced.

That's a rather substantial return on a nickel.

Ameringer's love of art grew from the time he was a kid in State College, Pennsylvania — where his father was a history professor at Penn State — and his mother would take him on jaunts to visit galleries and museums.

“I remember a lot about those trips, but most vividly was that I was allowed to buy a postcard that cost a nickel,” Ameringer said in an interview.

“I don’t know if this signifies that I was definitive in what I liked, but I bought the same post card every time I went.”

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Those multiple copies of American impressionist John Henry Twachtman’s "Winter Scene" would become Ameringer's first art collection.

After graduating from Penn State in 1977 with a degree in art history, and then obtaining a master's at Harvard, he embarked on a 40-year career in the art business, eventually opening his own eponymous gallery in New York.

One day, Barbara Palmer — who with her husband, James, was a visionary and champion of the museum that now bears their name — came into the gallery, which included painter Jules Olitski among its representees.

She left with Ameringer's promise to help acquire the American abstractionist's "Compelled" for the Palmer Museum. Ameringer delivered. He now serves on the museum’s National Advisory Council.

In 2009, Ameringer met Kevin Byrne, a professor and interior designer, at a fundraiser.  They married in 2011 and now divide their time between their homes in Palm Beach and Paris.

Ameringer retired from the art business in 2020.

“I feel that where I am, and where we are, is a result of the education I received and connections I made at Penn State,” Ameringer said.

“I’ve seen the Palmer Museum grow and I know it is becoming more of a national presence, and we want to be a part of that.”

“A major part of Will’s DNA is in State College,” Byrne said. “And because of that, this gift just makes sense, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.”

In addition to the $4 million Kevin and Will Ameringer-Byrne Museum Excellence Endowment, intended help the museum serve as a ''vital and accessible'' cultural resource for students, faculty, staff, scholars and visitors, the couple will donate 19 works of art representing American and British post-war modern and contemporary art.

The Ameringer-Byrne Collection features works created by LGBTQ artists and has a focus on botanical subjects and themes. Artists in the collection include David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Mapplethorpe, Donald Sultan, Nick Cave and Sue Williams.

Museum director Erin M. Coe said the gift will help to distinguish the Palmer as a university art museum dedicated to amplifying diverse voices, especially those in the LGBTQ community, and fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion.

“We are profoundly grateful to Will and Kevin for making this commitment," she said. “The endowment is a significant investment in our ability to deliver world-class exhibitions and programming to diverse audiences for future generations.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach couple gives $4M, 19 works of art to Penn State's Palmer Museum