December 14, 1980 

I am writing to inform you that I am interested in donating some money in order to expand the Fogg and create a new home for the Asian and Ancient collections. I, Arthur Sackler, consider myself a patron of the arts and know a lot about artwork. Let me tell you some things about my personal collection, my aesthetic preferences, and how much I love art. 

I love art; a fun fact about me is that my favorite color is orange. Orange is a powerful color; it represents warmth and hope and also prevents ultraviolet light from degrading the quality of medicine. There are many beautiful works of art that are orange, such as "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. As you might already know, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch is an important piece of artwork because it illustrates the anxiety of modern man. While we’re on the subject of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, I can’t help but think the poor fellow could have really benefited from this new, exciting drug named Valium, but that’s neither here nor there.

You should know that the mission of expanding the Fogg into an institution with global reach is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Some people think that Western art is all there is, and to those people I say, aim higher! There are always new, untapped markets to explore. Personally, I am a huge collector of Asian and Middle Eastern art and artifacts. I have an interest in supporting emerging Asian artists. I’ve been mysteriously blessed with a lot of money, and I do what I can to help — buying paintbrushes, paying rent, commissioning works, giving them complimentary samples of products I’m developing that reduce their anxiety and help proliferate their artistic output.  

Oh, wow, thinking about the endless possibilities for growth in China really gets my heart pumping. To calm me down, I might even have to take a — no, never mind, I should probably wait until 8 p.m. Notice how easy it is for me to follow the dosage instructions recommended on my prescription! The Valium is really good for helping me unwind. It’s not that good, though, if you know what I mean. I mean, it’s definitely not, like, addictive or anything. Actually, a lot of doctors recommend it, including me. I’m a doctor; I signed the Hippocampus Oath just like everyone else.

Anyway, I hope you’ll accept my offer to fund the creation of your new museum! I’m excited to contribute; art is very important to me and I love it a lot. By the way, please do let me know if any of your fellows are experiencing any back pain in the process of moving my huge, grand collection of artwork into the museum. I think I have just the solution. 

Yours truly,

Arthur J. Sackler