Supporter Story

Cathy Lincoln has fond memories of attending art classes at the CMA and joining her school friends on field trips to explore the museum’s encyclopedic collection. While studying watercolor painting at Lake Erie College, she continued to visit the CMA often. “I was the one with the car, so I’d take friends, and we’d spend a long time in the galleries.” 

From a young age, Cathy experienced art on a global scale. Her father, James F. Lincoln Jr., inspired much of Cathy’s penchant for travel and collecting art. As a young man in the 1930s, he sailed around the world in a schooner and collected artwork representative of the cultures he encountered. Later in life, when traveling with his family, Cathy’s father would encourage his children to collect artwork themselves. On one occasion, while in Panama in the mid-1970s, Cathy purchased a variety of notable Mola textiles, which she gifted to the CMA in 2021. 

Cathy’s mother, Emma Lincoln—who was assistant attorney general for the state of Ohio in the early 1950s—also encouraged Cathy in the arts. She and Cathy shared a deep interest in needlepoint and creating miniature dollhouses. Cathy continues to work in needlepoint, and she exhibits her dollhouses across the country. 

As a collector of art and an artist herself, Cathy understands the extensive care required to preserve and protect the CMA’s collection for future generations. She also believes in the enormous benefit that art education provides for young people from all walks of life. Cathy’s interest in and knowledge of these areas at the museum has led her to establish one of the most significant endowment gifts in the CMA’s history. 

Cathy’s profoundly generous gift has founded the Cathy Lincoln Center for Conservation and offers endowed support for conservation at the museum, which is essential in providing increased public access to the CMA’s collection of more than 66,500 artworks that spans 6,000 years of human achievement in the arts. The endowment also aligns with Cathy’s specific interest in textile arts, providing permanent support for textile conservation.

Furthermore, Cathy’s extraordinary gift will shape the future of education and school programs at the museum. The endowment establishes sustained programming and instructional support, which offers greater access and develops engaging opportunities for all learners. In addition, the endowment includes crucial backing for the CMA’s chief learning officer to lead new and existing educational initiatives. 

“We’ve always been a very philanthropic family. We believe in joining and supporting museums. You need to support these places. This is how you get young people interested, and you must expose them to new things,” she said. When asked about the impact she hoped her gift would have on education, Cathy responded: “Not having children myself, I want to do something that helps take care of the city’s children.”