On March 26 the American Folk Art Museum announced that longtime patrons Kendra and Allan Daniel have pledged a bequest of $1 million in support of future acquisitions of traditional American folk art.
This bequest initiates Kendra and Allan Daniel into the American Folk Art Museum’s Legacy Society, which honors friends of the museum who have pledged to include AFAM in their estate plans and make a lasting commitment to its future. Among the honorees previously inducted into the Legacy Society are Richard Gasperi and Audrey B. Heckler.
Allan Daniel served as a member of AFAM’s board of trustees from 2008 to 2016 and is currently an active member of the museum’s acquisitions committee. Kendra and Allan Daniel have long been supporters of the museum. They were instrumental in the organization of the 2016 exhibition Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection. The exhibition explored the fascinating visual landscape of fraternal culture through the enigmatic and evocative ritual props, lodge furnishings, painted banners, and additional art and objects that were the hallmarks of these secret societies in America from the late 1700s through the early 20th century. The exhibition was memorialized in an illustrated scholarly catalog published in conjunction with the exhibition.
The exhibition, primarily composed of a major gift of works of art from their collection, featured almost 200 works of art. Since debuting in 2016, Mystery and Benevolence has continued through traveling exhibitions to museums and institutions across the United States. It is currently on view at the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, through May 11.
Kendra and Allan Daniel. Photo by David Collins.
Kendra and Allan Daniel also made a promised gift to the museum of a carved Punch figure by Charles Henkel (1842-1915). Carved in 1870, this figure is distinguished by its level of detail and fullness of expression as well as its robust presence and articulated features. As the only known example signed by Henkel, this Punch figure also marks the first work by the artist now in the museum’s collection and is an important piece of immigrant craftsmanship in 19th-century America.
Jason T. Busch, the Becky and Bob Alexander Director and CEO of the American Folk Art Museum, commented: “The Daniels have built an unparalleled reputation in the field based on their decades of expertise and passion for all facets of American folk art. We are deeply grateful to Kendra and Allan for this significant bequest, which will bolster the museum’s acquisition funds for future works for art and better position AFAM as the nation’s museum of folk and self-taught art.”
Photo courtesy Sotheby’s.
Kendra and Allan Daniel remarked on this gift: “The American Folk Art Museum holds a very special place in our hearts, and we are honored to provide this gift to ensure the museum continues to seek out important works of traditional folk art that advance a greater understanding of folk and self-taught art across American history.”
Originally published in the May 2025 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2025 Maine Antique Digest
