Her namesake foundation has awarded over $17 million to advance its mission, including unrestricted cash awards for researchers and artists across disciplines.
Vilcek co-founded her namesake foundation alongside her husband Jan in 2002 to support immigrant contributions to the arts and sciences. (all images courtesy Vilcek Foundation)
Marica Vilcek, a revered advocate for immigrant artists and scientists, has passed away at the age of 89. The cherished art historian and philanthropist died on Monday, March 23, at her home in New York.
The Vilcek Foundation, which she founded with her husband Jan in 2000, announced her passing. The foundation was created to celebrate and support immigrant contributions to the arts and sciences. To date, it has distributed over $17 million in support of its mission, including unrestricted cash awards for artists and researchers across various fields.
Rick Kinsel, President of the Vilcek Foundation, shared in a eulogy with Hyperallergic, “Marica had a remarkable ability to recognize potential in people — sometimes before they saw it in themselves. She believed deeply that talent should be nurtured wherever it appeared.”
Born in 1936 as Marica Gerháth, in what was then Czechoslovakia, Vilcek grew up during the Soviet-backed takeover in 1948. At 17, she became the sole student from Bratislava, now in Slovakia, to gain entry to Charles University in Prague. However, she soon left to care for her ailing mother.
Vilcek was determined to complete her education and went on to earn her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral-equivalent degrees in art history from Comenius University in Bratislava.
In 1959, three years after completing her highest degree, she met Jan, a medical researcher. Their shared passion for research and helping others led to their marriage a few months later.
As the political climate worsened leading up to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the couple fled to New York City in 1965, after securing refugee status in West Germany.
Jan Vincek joined the microbiology faculty at New York University, where he developed the anti-inflammatory drug Remicade, which treats conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. The couple’s wealth stems from royalties from the drug’s sales.
Meanwhile, Marica Vilcek volunteered at the Brooklyn Museum library and later worked at the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 30 years, eventually becoming associate curator overseeing the Accessions and Catalogue Department.
She later initiated a high school internship program, funding it herself to kickstart many young museum careers. Vilcek served as an honorary trustee of The Met until her passing. In 2010, she joined the board of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
Kinsel, who became executive director of the Vilcek Foundation in 2003, first met Marica during his early career at The Met. “She advocated strongly for recognizing younger artists and scientists, people who were still building their work and whose voices might otherwise go unheard,” Kinsel tenderly recalled in his eulogy.
“Her legacy lives not only in the buildings, programs, and prizes that bear the Vilcek name,” he added. “It lives in the people she encouraged, the paths she helped open, and the vision she quietly insisted we pursue.”
Colleagues remember Vilcek for her graceful charm and boundless generosity. She will be honored in a small private funeral this weekend. She is survived by her husband, Jan.
