Dwight V Dowley

Benefactor Unknown to Woodmere Art Museum Leaves a $5 Million Gift to the Museum

The Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill “didn’t know its reticent neighbor Dwight V. Dowley, but he obviously knew and admired Woodmere, $5 million worth,” according to Edward Sozanski, Philadelphia Inquirer art critic (Philadelphia Inquirer, Sun., Oct. 29, 2000). For Woodmere, the extraordinary gift represented the largest in its history.

Although most people who leave a bequest to an organization are supporters and members, surprisingly, Dowley was unknown to all of the cultural organizations that benefited from his philanthropy. A retired lawyer and bank examiner, Dowley made his fortune through investments. He lived in Chestnut Hill since the 1920s when his mother moved the children back to the community where she grew up after the death of his father. Dowley loved classical music, attended performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra regularly, and greatly appreciated art.

According to his brother, Frank Dowley, a retired art history professor in Chicago, Dowley singled out Woodmere because he felt that smaller local museums, like Woodmere, were being neglected and he wanted to help. Since the gift was restricted for facilities expansion, Woodmere will use the gift to build an addition that will provide a gallery for special exhibitions, a multipurpose auditorium, more space for staff and volunteers and improved storage for art and archives.

All of the gifts from Dowley’s estate were restricted for specific purposes. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s $1 million gift will endow a chair for the principal timpanist, currently Don S. Liuzzi, a musician admired by Dowley. Chestnut Hill College received $500,000 to renovate its art studio. Dowley provided a scholarship for the Philadelphia Foundation for Hidden River Venture, an arts program in Lafayette Hall, and for the Settlement Music School’s Germantown branch. He also endowed Center in the Park in Germantown to enhance music and art programs for the elderly and Chestnut Hill Hospital’s Springfield Center for music programs for its residents. Dowley spent the last years of his life at Cathedral Village and included that facility in his will as well. Other arts organization recipients included the Stagecrafters theater group and Allen Lanes Art Center.

Dowley left the bulk of the estate he built from years of careful investment to organizations dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of others. Most are in close proximity to the Chestnut Hill community where he lived. His legacy will make an important difference in the community for generations to come.

PHOTO ABOVE:
James Toogood (American 1954 - )
The Woodmere Art Museum, 1994
Watercolor on paper; 18-1/4" x 26"