Tina Ambani, a former Bollywood star and founder of India’s Harmony Art Foundation for contemporary artists, became the first foreign trustee at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2008.
The museum began acquiring Indian art in 1800 and has one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary Indian art outside of India. Ambani’s husband, Anil Ambani, has a net worth of $5.7 billion and is the younger brother of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
“She represents and advocates for PEM in India,” said Dan Monroe, the museum director. “We anticipate continuing to develop our board in terms of global representation.”
Ambani lent the museum a large reflective sculpture by Anish Kapoor, which is displayed in the museum’s atrium. Prices for Kapoor’s sculptures on the primary market start at 500,000 pounds ($759,450) and his auction record is $3.9 million.