A Life Lived through Art: The Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff Collection

For over 50 years, the philanthropists Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff built their lives around Baltimore—and around art. From their home in Bolton Hill, they dedicated themselves to this city, to the artists who call it home, and to its institutions that work to make art accessible to all.

This exhibition celebrates and commemorates the legacy of Nancy Dorman, a long-time member of the BMA’s Board of Trustees who passed away on January 12, 2024. On the walls of this gallery—a part of the BMA’s Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, which the couple founded in 2021—you will see selections from their remarkable collection of contemporary art. Each one of these works, as well as over 70 others, were gifted to this museum. Taken together, this rich array of photographs, paintings, sculptures, textiles, and works on paper represents a sweeping history of 20th-century art that is told from Baltimore but encompasses the world.

BMA Director Dr. Asma Naeem characterized the important role that Nancy Dorman played in the Baltimore community: “[there was] no one in the world like Nancy Dorman. She believed in this city and the power of art and education. Humanity, a willingness to roll up her sleeves, and an unshakeable commitment to civic betterment, Nancy embodied these ideas like no other.”

We honor her life and treasure her memory with this exhibition.