A Cleveland native, Broida founded R & B Development Co. in 1962 and retired just 10 years later. He created one of this country's premier private art collections. He became a generous philanthropist, donating a substantial portion of his collection to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City and becoming one of the Center's Partners for the Future.

Partners are special donors who include the Center in their wills or estate plans, thereby extending their support for the Center's work beyond their lifetimes. Broida's support of the Center reflects a commitment to issues he dealt with his entire life.

"He was always against all sorts of prejudice and racism," said his wife, Gisele Broida. "As a Jewish kid, he felt a lot of prejudice growing up, and it gave him an awareness of discrimination and racism."

In 1974, the year Ed turned 40, he began devoting much of his retirement to renewing an early interest in art and began frequenting art galleries and artists' studios in Los Angeles and New York. He purchased his first three paintings, created by Philip Guston, in 1978, which grew into a collection of over 800 works by a varied group of artists.

In 2005 Broida contacted MoMA, and offered the museum its choice of pieces, except for a few special items that he wanted to keep for his children. In October, the museum announced Broida's gift of 174 contemporary works by 38 artists.

The museum hosted an exhibit of Broida's collection, "Against the Grain: Contemporary Art from the Edward R. Broida Collection," in 2006. Eric Broida, his son, said of the exhibit: "It was very emotional and raw. It represented the heart and soul of Dad's collection and to have had the opportunity to have seen it together in one place was very moving."

In addition to playing a role in the future of the Center's work, Broida made a lasting contribution to both the art world and more importantly to his family. "You couldn't have asked for a better father," Eric Broida said. "I honestly don't believe there is another person in the world that has treated me personally with absolute unconditional love. That has taught me something profound and that is very deeply missed."

Ed also taught his children another important value. "With respect to Dad's feelings against any form whatsoever of discrimination or racism, that was drilled into my head growing up, and I feel exactly the same," Eric Broida said. "Dad would talk to me every year about the SPLC, and the reason he was so passionate about you is for the very reason of your existence, that you fight discrimination and are committed to racial equality. Dad was very passionate about that fight, and I am too."

SPLC Report
Spring 2007