History

Daniel Terra opened two museums to showcase his holdings—The Terra Museum for American Art in Evanston, Illinois (1980), which later moved to downtown Chicago (1987), and the Musée d’Art Américain Giverny in Giverny, France (1992).

In 2004, the foundation conceived of the concept of a museum without walls, closing the Chicago museum to focus on supporting American art through a global grants program and sharing the foundation’s art collection through loans and co-curated exhibitions in Chicago and around the world. In 2005, the foundation launched its expanded grants program to strengthen and broaden the field of historical American art through cross-cultural dialogue and exchange locally, nationally, and globally. The foundation also began a long-term loan agreement with the Art Institute of Chicago that ensured that works would continue to be available to Chicago and its visitors. In 2014, the foundation entered a public-private partnership with French institutions to transfer ownership of the Giverny museum and establish the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, though it maintains residences in Giverny to facilitate international convenings.

In 2020, the foundation entered a strategic planning phase aimed at evolving our mission and rethinking our grantmaking practices. Our commitment to American art in a global context remains a fundamental part of our mission. Today, we focus on fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices to expand narratives of American art locally and globally.

Since 2005, the Terra Foundation has been supporting American art projects worldwide. As the field has evolved, so have its needs—in response, our grant opportunities and offerings have also changed. We invite you to explore our rich archive of past programs and partnerships.