$300 million gift from philanthropist Richard Hedreen creates new art museum

Seattle University is set to transform its campus and the city’s cultural scene by creating the Seattle University Museum of Art, made possible by a landmark $300 million gift from philanthropist Richard Hedreen.

The new museum, designed by Olson Kundig, will rise on a prominent corner site near the university’s main entrance. It will also serve as a companion to SU’s new art school, which was created in collaboration with Cornish College of the Arts.

This unprecedented donation—the largest in Seattle University’s history and among the most significant arts-related gifts ever in the Pacific Northwest—cements Hedreen’s legacy as one of the region’s most dedicated arts patrons. The gift will fund the museum’s construction, establish a substantial endowment, and ensure the long-term stewardship of the Hedreen art collection, which will be permanently housed in the new space.

The Hedreen collection includes more than 200 works spanning from the 15th and 16th centuries through modernism, featuring artists such as Jacopo da Pontormo, Thomas Gainsborough, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. The museum’s gallery spaces will be flexible, designed to accommodate visual art, music, and performance and to serve as a living classroom for students and a cultural resource for the wider community.

Architect Tom Kundig describes the project as a “beacon to both the campus and the surrounding community,” drawing connections between the new museum and SU’s spiritual and architectural heart, the Chapel of St. Ignatius. Renderings show a two-story building clad in wooden slats, with materials chosen to emphasize transparency and control light, elements that reinforce the museum’s role as both sanctuary and gathering space.

The Lee Center for the Arts will be demolished to make way for the museum, a decision that has evoked mixed emotions. Anniyah Fitzhugh, a communications and theater major, called the Lee Center “a critical space for students and community members to express themselves, collaborate, and celebrate the arts.”

Richard Hedreen’s philanthropy extends far beyond Seattle University.

Alongside his late wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Hedreen, he has made decades of impactful contributions to Seattle’s cultural and educational institutions.

The couple played a pivotal role in supporting the Seattle Art Museum, where they helped expand the museum’s contemporary art holdings.

They also donated to the Seattle Repertory Theatre, funding major productions and education programs. In addition, the Hedreens have supported housing, scholarships, and arts initiatives to increase access and opportunity for historically underrepresented communities.

The Hedreens have quietly shaped the Pacific Northwest’s cultural identity through significant gifts, art patronage, and advocacy.

With the creation of the Seattle University Museum of Art, that legacy will now have a permanent home—both as a tribute to the past and as a catalyst for the region’s creative future.

Groundbreaking for the museum is scheduled for August 2026, with the opening slated for 2028.