Art collection and philanthropy
With his wife, Hays began collecting American art in the 1970s.[5][6] By the 1980s, they began collecting French art, especially Les Nabis.[6]
Hays and his wife co-founded the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay in 2013.[7] Hays served on its board of directors.[8] In 2016, the couple donated 187 paintings worth £155 million to the museum.[3][9] After their death, their donation will come up to 600 paintings worth £315 million.[3] The donation includes paintings by Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Odilon Redon, Edgar Degas, Gustave Caillebotte, Camille Corot, Aristide Maillol, Amedeo Modigliani and Albert Marquet.[9] It was the largest foreign bequest to the museum since its opening in 1986.[3] As a result, French president François Hollande thanked them for it and made them Commanders of the Legion of Honour.[9]
On July 10, 2019, a second donation of 106 pièces of art (40 paintings, 47 drawings and 19 sculptures) of Bonnard, Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton, Georges Lacombe, Édouard Manet, Émile Bernard, Camille Claudel, Odilon Redon, Robert Delaunay, Henri Matisse or Modigliani was given by Marlene Spencer to the Musée d'Orsay.
Hays donated $2 million to his alma mater, Texas Christian University.[1][3] He previously served on its board of trustees.[3][10]
