Marica Vilcek, art historian and co-founder of the Vilcek Foundation, has died at 89 in New York. She and her husband Jan, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia, established the foundation in 2000 to provide grants and prizes, primarily to immigrant artists, curators, and scientists, celebrating their contributions to American society.
Her death marks the loss of a pivotal figure who championed immigrant artists and scholars through significant financial support. The foundation's work, bridging art history and biomedical science, has had a tangible impact, funding major figures in the art world and reinforcing the vital role immigrants play in cultural and intellectual life in the United States.