On April 24, 2026, the Kenyon community gathered to celebrate the life of visionary architect Graham Gund ’63 H’81. The following remarks were given by Kenyon trustee and Gund board member David Horvitz '74 H'98.
I am honored to be here and to speak about my friend Graham Gund.
Other speakers have talked about his dedication to Kenyon, his vision for the built environment at the college, his consummate skills as an architect, and his financial generosity.
There is little I can add, so let me share with you something else about Graham, something that I was incredibly privileged to see.
I first noticed this, or actually, my wife Francie pointed it out to me, as we were walking around Art Basel in Miami with Graham and Ann.
For those of you who don’t know, Art Basel Miami is one of the world’s great art fairs where galleries from all over the world rent booths at the huge Miami Beach Convention Center, at very high prices, to showcase and sell “the best” of modern and contemporary art. At Art Basel, collectors can visit hundreds of galleries and see the thousands of works offered by those galleries in the course of a day or two.
Graham was normally a deliberate walker, eyes straight ahead kind of guy, a man who had a destination in mind. He was a little bit shy with people he didn’t know. But as we walked around the fair with Graham, his mannerisms were distinctly different. He walked slowly, weaving his way among the booths, his eyes wide. He would stop to greet gallerists, museum directors, collectors and people from the Gund board. He was undeniably charming.
As he walked, his eyes were drawn to certain works and he’d stop and look at them closely, then step back and look at them from afar and maybe ask the gallerist about the piece and the artist.
But sometimes a work of art seemed to just grab him, capture him, almost freeze him in place. And when that happened, his eyes widened even more, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly and a new twinkle in his eyes betrayed the excitement he felt. His posture changed, his hands moved faster, and he began to look like he was in a hurry. His enthusiasm radiated through his entire soul. If Fran or I were with him, he’d look at us quizzically, as if to say, “don’t you see it?”
As a collector he wasn’t swayed by trends. He and Ann were always open to new ideas and new artist discoveries. And when they discovered a new artist, or found something that moved him from an established artist, he went all in. Often, he bought multiple works from the same artist.
And Graham wouldn’t miss Art Basel for the world. He loved hosting dinners each year in Miami for The Gund board and friends, buoyed by all the energy surrounding the fair.
Even in his 80s, walking with a cane or having to ride on a scooter to get around, he never changed his attitude, open, curious and ready to absorb what the artist was giving.
He loved to share his enthusiasm and inspire others, especially students. That is why he designed and funded The Gund. That is why he allowed his name to be associated with this building but none of the other buildings he designed and funded at Kenyon. That is why he has been so generous with his collection.
He hoped that by allowing the opportunity for Kenyon students to experience what he experienced, the joy of discovery that one can get when seeing great art, close up, that Kenyon students would be more fulfilled and open and curious about the world.
Graham’s twinkle and joy was evident in all of his work for Kenyon. I saw bits of this over the years as he and I walked Kenyon’s campus in the early spring and the daffodils were beginning to bloom. And I remember just last year when he showed me the little pieces of stained glass above the window seats in the new Winkler building. That little touch he thought of, excited him to no end. And I saw it years before when he showed me his plans for the Horvitz building for the first time and I looked back at him with a smile.
His love for art and architecture and Kenyon was in a way, childlike, in only the best way, free from all the internal and external forces that happen during life. It was pure and honest and so admirable. I envied him for this.
A rare man, I miss him.