N.Y. Museum to Get Paley Artworks

The Museum of Modern Art will receive the multimillion-dollar collection of art assembled by William S. Paley, the late founder of CBS Inc.

The gift includes 84 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, including Pablo Picasso’s 1906 masterpiece “Boy Leading a Horse” and other works by Picasso, Renoir, Gauguin and Degas.

“At a time when donations of great works of art to museums have been declining because of tax changes and soaring values, this magnificent donation of masterpieces sets an extraordinary example of generosity and spirit,” said Richard E. Oldenburg, director of the museum.

Oldenburg called the collection “one of the most significant ever presented to this institution.”

Paley, who died Oct. 26 at age 89, was appointed a trustee of the museum in 1937 and served as board president from 1968 to 1972 and chairman from 1972 to 1985.

Over the years he had given the museum many works by Picasso and others.

In his will, Paley left the bulk of his large art collection to the William S. Paley Foundation, which he set up in 1936. The museum and the foundation have just completed an agreement for the transfer of the collection to the museum.