What Dedalus Foundation Inc does

The Dedalus Foundation is a private, non-profit operating foundation established in 1981 by the American abstract-expressionist artist Robert Motherwell (initially as the Motherwell Foundation, renamed in 1991 a month before his death) and headquartered at 25 East 21st Street in New York City. Its mission is to foster public understanding and appreciation of modern art and the principles of modernism, executed through five core program areas: stewardship of the Motherwell legacy (artworks, archives, copyrights, and an approximately 4,200-book studio library), arts education (MFA Fellowships and NYC High School Scholarships), research and publication (catalogues raisonnés of paintings, collages, drawings, and prints, published with Yale University Press), archives and conservation (including a long-running fellowship at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts Conservation Center), and exhibitions and curatorial projects. The Foundation has awarded more than 500 grants to museums, colleges, and community organizations, scholarships to over 150 NYC high school graduates, and fellowships to over 100 scholars and artists.

The Foundation operates with a small staff of approximately 10 employees and does not sell commercial products or services. Its "revenue model" is that of an endowed artist-endowed foundation: it administers grants, fellowships, scholarships, publications, and exhibitions funded by Motherwell's bequeathed assets and ongoing stewardship of his intellectual property. Distribution is direct — the Foundation administers programs itself to individuals (students, scholars, emerging artists) and institutions (museums, colleges, art schools) via application processes, with no third-party resellers or channel partners. Marketing is limited to the Foundation's own website (dedalusfoundation.org) and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Leadership transitioned in January 2025 with the appointment of Katy Rogers as President and CEO, succeeding Jack Flam (President since 2002); Morgan Spangle has served as Executive Director since 2002.

Name

Dedalus Foundation Inc

Legal name

Dedalus Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://dedalusfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Dedalus Foundation is a private, non-profit artist-endowed foundation in New York City that stewards the legacy of Robert Motherwell by awarding grants, fellowships, and scholarships to students, scholars, and institutions in modern art.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Foundation Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)

Keywords

• Artist-endowed foundation
• Arts education grants
• Modern art fellowships
• Scholarly publication funding
• Art conservation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Dedalus Foundation is a private non-profit operating foundation that administers fellowships, scholarships, and institutional grants in support of modern art and modernism, while stewarding the Robert Motherwell artistic legacy through its catalogues raisonnés, archives, exhibitions, and public educational programs. It directly awards MFA Fellowships, Dissertation Fellowships, Senior Fellowships, High School Scholarships, Conservation Fellowships at NYU, and Book/Catalogue Awards, and supports exhibitions and curatorial projects at museums and educational institutions.

Product overview

The Dedalus Foundation is a single unified program portfolio rather than a platform architecture. Its core offerings center on five program areas: Motherwell Legacy (maintaining the artist's works and archives), Arts Education (MFA Fellowships, High School Scholarships), Research and Publication (catalogues raisonnés, book awards), Archives and Conservation (studio archives, conservation fellowships), and Exhibition and Curatorial Projects. The foundation's primary products are its fellowship and award programs, scholarly catalogues raisonnés documenting Motherwell's complete body of work, comprehensive archives with finding aids, exhibition documentation, and video/online content. All programs serve the foundation's mission to foster public understanding of modern art and modernism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fellowships and Awards Programs Portfolio of application-based fellowship and award programs including MFA Fellowships, Dissertation Fellowships, Senior Fellowships in Art History, the NYU Conservation Fellowship, High School Scholarships for NYC students, the Robert Motherwell Book Award, the Exhibition Catalogue Award, and the Alumni Fund for past awardees. Intended for individual students, scholars, artists, and authors working on modern art.
• Catalogues Raisonnés Scholarly reference publications documenting Robert Motherwell's complete body of work, including 1,209 paintings on canvas/panel, 722 paintings on paper, 889 collages, 1,413 drawings, and the full prints corpus, published by Yale University Press and available in searchable online format. Intended for scholars, curators, collectors, and researchers of modern art.
• Archives and Research Resources Comprehensive archives containing Robert Motherwell's professional correspondence, manuscripts, publications, photographs, and an art library of approximately 4,200 books and periodicals, accompanied by finding aids, selected bibliographies, exhibition histories, and studio library documentation. Intended for scholars, researchers, curators, and the public researching Robert Motherwell and modern art.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 500 grants to museums, educational institutions, and community organizations
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NYU Institute of Fine Arts Conservation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Since 1999, the Dedalus Foundation has sponsored a Dedalus Fellow in Conservation at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. This Fellowship is given to an outstanding student specializing in the conservation of modern and contemporary art.
• Smithsonian American Art Museum / University of Chicago PressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Dedalus Foundation supports the Toward Equity in Publishing Program, an initiative designed to remediate inequitable conditions that precede and impede publication in American art history, launched by the peer-reviewed journal American Art.
• Yale University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation worked with Yale University Press to publish the catalogues raisonnés of Robert Motherwell's paintings, collages, and drawings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Robert Rauschenberg Foundation: Artist-endowed foundation managing Robert Rauschenberg's legacy through grants, residencies, and archives — directly comparable in artist-endowed philanthropy focused on mid-20th century American art.
• Pollock-Krasner Foundation: Artist-endowed foundation established through the estates of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner that provides financial assistance to individual working artists — closely parallel in artist-endowed grantmaking model.
• Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: Artist-endowed foundation supporting contemporary visual artists through curatorial grants and exhibition funding — comparable in artist-endowed grantmaking with much larger scale.
• Helen Frankenthaler Foundation: Artist-endowed foundation stewarding Helen Frankenthaler's legacy through grants, archives, and exhibitions — near-identical structure and programs to Dedalus.
• Cy Twombly Foundation: Foundation stewarding Cy Twombly's artistic legacy including catalogues raisonnés and exhibition support — directly parallel in artist-endowed legacy stewardship and scholarly publication.
• Joan Mitchell Foundation: Artist-endowed foundation established by Abstract-Expressionist Joan Mitchell that provides fellowships and grants to artists and arts organizations — directly comparable in mission, structure, and target beneficiaries to Dedalus.

Broad incumbents

• Terra Foundation for American Art: Large private foundation funding exhibitions, research, and scholarship on American art globally — overlapping with Dedalus's scholarly and exhibition support goals at greater scale.
• Getty Foundation: Major philanthropic foundation supporting art scholarship, conservation, and exhibitions — overlapping with Dedalus's conservation fellowship and catalogue raisonné programs at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Dia Art Foundation: Nonprofit arts institution supporting modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, archives, and programs — adjacent in mission to steward modern art legacies.

Others

• Sotheby's Institute of Art: Educational institution offering art history, curating, and arts management programs — adjacent as a non-commercial channel for arts scholarship and modern art education supported by similar philanthropy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dedalusfndn
• Facebookfacebook.com/DedalusFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/dedalusfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dedalus-foundation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dedalus Foundation Inc