ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University has received a substantial increase in revenues from the sale of privately held stock that had been held by Cornell as a gift from the estate of George and Mary Rockwell. George Rockwell was a member of the College of Engineering Class of 1913.

In late March 2000, General Latex and Chemical Corp., the company George Rockwell founded, was acquired by Dow Chemical Corp. About $3.5 million from the sale of the General Latex stock has been received by the university for the benefit of the Johnson Museum.

"The Rockwells were just extraordinary people. They helped to create one of the finest collections of Asian art anywhere and one of the glories of Cornell," said Franklin W. Robinson, the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the museum. "Their generosity continues to inspire us and shape our collection and will do so for many generations to come. Our plan is to use this new revenue to honor their great love for the art and culture of Asia and their enduring commitment to Cornell."

Robinson said most of the new funds will continue to be used to purchase Asian art.

"But we also hope to use some of the funds to make the collection more accessible and available to visitors. We are consulting with the firm of I.M. Pei, the museum's architect, on a renovation plan for our fifth-floor Asian galleries so we can display more works of art, while preserving the spectacular views of the lake and the campus," Robinson said. He said he expects to announce detailed plans later this year.

Mary Rockwell lived in China as a child, where she developed a lifelong interest in Asian culture. As an adult, she often traveled to Asia with her husband and bought objects there for the collection. In an unusually close partnership between curator and patron, she worked side by side for 30 years with Martie K. Young, the Johnson Museum's Asian collection curator, to build the collection. Her expertise led her to serve as an informal adviser to Richard and Pat Nixon before their historic presidential visit to China in 1972.

George Rockwell died in 1968 and Mary in 1988. The Rockwells' bequest benefited Cornell Plantations as well as the Johnson Museum. Another gift of theirs created the Rockwell Azalea Garden near Malott Hall on Cornell's campus.