Suzanne Deal Booth

Suzanne Deal Booth is an arts advocate, philanthropist, and collector. A native of Texas, she earned degrees from Rice University (cum laude) and NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts (M.A. in Art History and a certificate in Art Conservation, 1984). As a student, she worked as an assistant to the late art collector Dominique de Menil and lived with her in New York while in graduate school at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. While in New York, she also worked with the artist James Turrell, who she assisted with projects at MoMA PS1 and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1998, she founded the Friends of Heritage Preservation (FOHP), a group of individuals committed to the critical preservation and conservation needs of artistic and cultural heritage. FOHP has accomplished 73 projects in 16 countries. Suzanne’s current board commitments include Ballroom Marfa, The Contemporary Austin, the Blanton Museum of Art Museum, the Menil Collection and LACMA; she is a former trustee at the American Academy in Rome and Rice University and has served on the boards of the Centre Pompidou Foundation, the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University and Rice University. Suzanne also served as a gubernatorial appointee on the board of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment for the State of California and was responsible for allocating $125 million. In 2001, she and her family established the Booth Family Rome Prize Fellowship for Historic Preservation and Conservation at the American Academy in Rome. Through her patronage, a Skyspace by James Turrell, titled, Twilight Epiphany, was realized in 2012 and named the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Skyspace on Rice University’s campus in Houston, Texas. In 2016, she created the Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize - a biennial, unrestricted award of $100,000 given to an artist selected every two years, which will also include a solo exhibition and scholarly publication. The first recipient was Rodney McMillian. In 2018, the prize expanded through a partnership with FLAG Art Foundation in New York City, increasing the prize to $200,000 and funding a second exhibition of the recipient’s work to take place in New York City. The prize was renamed the Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize, and the first recipient of the expanded prize is Nicole Eisenman. Suzanne runs the family vineyard, Bella Oaks, in Rutherford, California, and produces cabernet sauvignon and is an advocate for events pairing food, wine and art. Suzanne is a collector of Renaissance, modern, and contemporary art.

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