The Easton Foundation Inc.

The Easton Foundation Inc. is a highly unusual private foundation: it is simultaneously an operating foundation (running Louise Bourgeois's studio and gallery at 420 W 14th Street, New York) and a selective grantmaker that funds museum exhibitions and archival projects tied almost exclusively to Bourgeois's legacy. Founded by Bourgeois herself in 1984, the foundation was bequeathed her Manhattan townhouse and an adjacent building upon her death in 2010, and holds a substantial art collection that it actively manages, conserves, and exhibits.

The most critical fact for any grant seeker: The Easton Foundation does not respond to unsolicited applications. This is stated explicitly in its FAQ and confirmed by the foundation's `application_instructions` field listing `__none__` and `preselected_only: true` in grant databases. Every external grant the foundation has made — from the $300,000 to the Metropolitan Museum and $225,000 to the Kunstmuseum Basel, to smaller recurring gifts to the Aspen Institute — reflects a pre-existing institutional relationship or an initiative the foundation itself originated.

The foundation's leadership is intimate and closed: President Jerry Gorovoy served as Bourgeois's personal assistant for over 30 years and is the primary keeper of her legacy. Alain Bourgeois (VP/Treasurer, compensated at $250,000 annually) and Jean-Louis Bourgeois (VP/Secretary) are family members. This leadership structure means funding decisions are personal and relational — not programmatic.

For arts institutions, the realistic path to engagement is through a demonstrated track record of Bourgeois scholarship: peer-reviewed catalogue essays, curatorial projects that advance understanding of her practice, or international exhibition proposals that require the foundation's cooperation to lend works from its collection. The foundation's interest is in amplifying Bourgeois's global reach — not in funding general arts programming. Institutions that have succeeded include world-class museums (MoMA, the Met, Kunstmuseum Basel, Belvedere Vienna) with deep curatorial relationships with Gorovoy.

First-time institutional contacts should come through the Hauser & Wirth gallery, which represents the Bourgeois estate, or through established academic curators who already collaborate with the foundation's archive.

The Easton Foundation's financial profile reveals a funder that is primarily an operating foundation, not a traditional grantmaking institution. Holding $167,988,083 in assets (FY2024) and generating $7.9M in annual revenue — almost entirely from investment returns — the foundation allocates the majority of its expenditures ($2.86M in FY2024) to operating its programs: running Bourgeois's studio and gallery for public viewing ($1.03M in program expenses), studio improvements ($387K), art conservation and archival management ($252K), and archiving/translation of Bourgeois's French diaries ($99K).

The actual cash grants to external organizations are far smaller and highly variable: - FY2024: ~$183,737 (MoMA $150,000, Charities Aid Foundation of America $20,737, Aspen Institute $13,000) - FY2022: $366,156 - FY2021: $155,000 - FY2020: $2,500 - FY2018: $3,382,500 (peak year — likely corresponding to major retrospective loans) - FY2013: $970,000 - FY2012: $2,018,554

The wide year-to-year variance reflects the project-driven nature of exhibition support: large grants coincide with major retrospectives or international loans requiring crating, transport, and insurance (the Belvedere received $135,431 specifically for "expenses, transportation, crating, installation and insurance" for a single Bourgeois work).

Grant size range: $2,500 (small recurring gifts to Coalition for the Homeless) to $300,000 (Metropolitan Museum). Median external grant across all recorded recipients: approximately $61,696. The foundation's top 5 grantees by total amount are the Metropolitan Museum ($300,000), Kunstmuseum Basel ($225,000), Belvedere Vienna ($135,431), Coalition for the Homeless ($10,725), and the Aspen Institute ($7,500).

Geographic concentration: New York (6 grants) and Washington DC (3 grants) dominate, with international grants for specific exhibition facilitation (Basel, Vienna). Total identified external grants: 11 across all years, averaging $61,696 per grant. This is a foundation that makes fewer than 5 external grants per year in most years.

The Easton Foundation operates in the niche of artist-legacy private foundations — organizations created to perpetuate a single artist's estate and scholarly reputation. Comparing it to peers illustrates both its unusual scale and its highly restricted grantmaking posture.

The contrast is stark: The Easton Foundation holds assets comparable to the Joan Mitchell Foundation but directs only a fraction of the equivalent percentage to external grantees. Where peers like the Warhol Foundation have built open, institutionalized grant programs with published guidelines and annual cycles, Easton operates as a private estate management vehicle with occasional strategic grants. For arts organizations seeking unrestricted or program support funding in the visual arts, the Warhol, Mitchell, and Pollock-Krasner foundations represent far more accessible funding targets. The Easton Foundation is relevant only to institutions with an established Bourgeois exhibition program.

The foundation's most recent documented activity reflects its dual identity as both a cultural institution and a selective grantmaker. In FY2024, the foundation made three external grants totaling approximately $183,737: $150,000 to the Museum of Modern Art for art exhibition expenses, $20,737 via the Charities Aid Foundation of America to support a Bourgeois exhibition at the Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, and $13,000 to the Aspen Institute for philanthropy and social innovation programming.

On the programming front, the foundation announced a 2026 documentary film screening — 'Louise Bourgeois: The Rage to Understand,' directed by Marie-Ève de Grave — at Hauser & Wirth's 18th Street location on April 18, 2026. The foundation also mounted 'Gathering Wool,' an exhibition exploring Bourgeois's relationship to abstraction through late sculptures and works on paper, many previously unexhibited.

A commercially notable development is the foundation's first commercial licensing partnership: Menē Inc. launched a jewelry collection in collaboration with the Easton Foundation, marking a new revenue strategy beyond investment income. This suggests leadership is exploring commercial partnerships as a complement to the foundation's grant-funded operating model.

Leadership compensation has remained stable at $250,000 annually for Alain Bourgeois (VP/Treasurer), with President Jerry Gorovoy and Jean-Louis Bourgeois (VP/Secretary) listed at various compensation levels across filings. No major leadership transitions have been announced as of early 2026.

This foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. Any institution approaching The Easton Foundation through a cold grant inquiry will not receive a response. The following tips apply specifically to museums, academic institutions, and cultural organizations that have or are building a legitimate connection to Louise Bourgeois scholarship.

Build the relationship first — through the right channel. Jerry Gorovoy, the foundation's president, is the gatekeeper for all major decisions. He was Bourgeois's assistant for 30+ years and views his role as stewardship of her intellectual and artistic legacy. The entry point for most institutions is a serious curatorial or scholarly project on Bourgeois, approached through Hauser & Wirth (her gallery representative) or through academic curators with existing archive access.

Frame your request around the work, not the money. Successful grantees — MoMA, the Met, Kunstmuseum Basel, the Belvedere — received funding as a byproduct of exhibiting specific works from the foundation's collection. The foundation's interest is in getting Bourgeois's work seen by the public. Proposals that center on expanding public access to her work, advancing scholarly understanding, or preserving archival materials align directly with the stated mission.

Document your institution's prior Bourgeois engagement. If your institution has hosted past exhibitions, published catalogue essays, or collaborated with the foundation's archive, reference this explicitly. The foundation funds repeat relationships — the Metropolitan Museum received 2 grants totaling $300,000, the Aspen Institute received 3 grants totaling $7,500 over multiple years.

Specific asks must be project-specific. The foundation funds defined exhibition expenses: crating, transport, insurance, installation. Do not submit general operating requests. Requests tied to international loan agreements that require the foundation's active cooperation (lending works) are most likely to succeed.

Direct contact: (212) 242-4083, address 420 W 14th St Ste 7N, New York, NY 10014. The foundation's FAQ page (theeastonfoundation.org/faq) is listed as the grants contact point. Any written outreach should be concise, institution-credentialed, and Bourgeois-specific.