Richard & Joan Gann
Sacramento natives Joan and Richard F. Gann have witnessed many changes and growth in their hometown. But through the years, the Crocker Art Museum has been a cultural mainstay-a place for social interaction, intellectual engagement and a place to learn.
Joan and Richard have always had a fondness for early California art, especially because Richard is the great-grandson of the renowned California still-life painter Samuel Marsden Brookes. Over 10 years ago, Joan and Richard started a fund in their name for the purchase and conservation of early California works for the Crocker collection. As the plans for the new building progressed, they realized how the expansion will allow the story of California's art history—from statehood to the present—to be told. They could not let an opportunity to help build the new Crocker pass them by and made a lead gift. In addition, the Ganns intend to leave the Museum a painting by Brookes, a still life of fish, the artist's specialty. That painting will be a part of the very first show to be exhibited in the new Crocker, one which will feature promised gifts to the collection.
For the Ganns, being a part of the expansion is a chance to elevate the Crocker's profile and make Sacramento a major destination for all.