Boston arts donor killed while walking dog leaves ‘legacy of generosity’
A noted art benefactor who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Boston on Saturday was remembered for "leaving behind a legacy of generosity and artistic enrichment" in his obituary .
John Axelrod, 79, was killed when prosecutors say another man deliberately hit him with his vehicle while Axelrod was walking his dog near the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Axelrod's dog, Tale, was also killed.
Axelrod, a Boston resident, grew up in Andover and attended Phillips Academy, Yale University and Harvard Law School, according to his obituary. He went on to become a prominent art collector, philanthropist and an advocate for underrepresented artists .
He was a major benefactor of the Museum of Fine Arts since the 1980s. His gifts included 377 pieces of American Modern design from the 1920s and '30s, which helped establish the MFA as a leader in that field, and collections of 20th-century European decorative arts.
The John Axelrod Gallery in the Art of the Americas Wing was named in his honor in 2009, showcasing highlights such as Viktor Schreckengost's Jazz Bowl and a Paul T. Frankl desk. In 2011, the MFA acquired from Axelrod 67 works by Black artists, along with 18 works by Brazilian artists of African descent.
"His legacy will live on at the Museum through the John Axelrod Collection — a transformative acquisition including Archibald Motley, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alan Rohan Crite, Loïs Mailou Jones, and Kerry James Marshall," a statement from the MFA read.
The gallery "Art and Jazz," part of the new installation Stories Artists Tell in the Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. May 26, 2022John Axelrod Gallery(Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Axelrod is survived by his partner of 44 years, Darwin Cordoba, as well as his sisters Jane Axelrod and her husband Roy Dobbelaar and Nancy Axelrod, and his niece Ariel Axelrod-Hahn and nephew Nicholas Panagopoulos.
Axelrod had a lifelong love of dogs, and neighborhood regulars knew him from his frequent walks with Tale, an Australian terrier who often wore a distinctive custom-made red coat in winter.
Mildred Gonzalez, a cousin of Cordoba, said Axelrod was part of a Back Bay dog walking group that met every Tuesday. Axelrod's previous dogs, Myrna, Lovey, Malky and Tine, were "beloved," according to his obituary.
John Axelrod of Boston and his dog, Tale.(Photo courtesy of Mildred Gonzalez)
Services for Axelrod will be held at Temple Emanuel in Andover on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 1 p.m., according to his obituary. Interment will follow at Temple Emanuel Cemetery in Lawrence.
"He was a very well respected, amazing human being," Gonzalez said. "There's no one that's ever going to replace him."
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