The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts launched the Michael and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace in November 2016.
Photo Credit : Montreal Gazette
In 2013, Michal Hornstein was named to the National Order of Quebec.
Photo Credit : Simon Villeneuve
Michal and Renata Hornstein
Michal and Renata Hornstein were premier art collectors and philanthropists whose donations and contributions to Montreal have helped the city flourish economically and culturally.
Michal was born in Poland. Jumping off of a train to Auschwitz during the Holocaust, he hid in Europe over the course of the war, meeting his future wife, Renata (born in Lodz, Poland), in Bratislava. After marrying in Rome – where their love for art first developed – they immigrated to Montreal in 1951, and Michal founded a real estate company, Federal Construction Ltd.
As they developed residential and commercial properties across the city, the Hornsteins wanted to give back to Montreal – the city which, according to a 2012 interview with CBC, “gave [them] so much.” Thus began their relationship with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). Michal initially joined as a member of the Board of Trustees in the 1970s, and in 1982, he became the Chair of the Acquisition Committee for European Art before 1900.
In addition to personally contributing over 420 works to the MMFA’s collection, Michal has also been instrumental in raising funds for the Museum’s development and growth. In 2012, the Hornsteins made the decision to donate their collection of 75 Old Masters to the MMFA – valued at over $100M, with paintings from the Renaissance to the Modern Era. Indeed, this was the largest private modern history donation to a Quebec museum ever and has had a significant impact on the MMFA. The Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, designed to house the collection, opened in November 2016, as part of Montreal’s 375th anniversary celebrations.
In addition to their commitment to developing Montreal’s art collection, the Hornsteins have also been involved in philanthropy for many years. They are one of the major benefactors for the Montreal Heart Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, and the Jewish General Hospital, amongst others. They have also donated tremendously to Montreal’s universities. In 1998, they established the Renata Hornstein Graduate Fellowship in Art History for postgraduate work at Concordia.
Renata was fluent in seven languages, and published two memoirs in verse of her wartime experiences, in 2008 and 2012. Michal was made a Member of the Order of Canada (1984), a Knight of the National Order of Quebec (1993), an Officer to the National Order of Quebec (2002), and a Grand Officer to the National Order of Quebec (2013). In 2012, Montreal honoured the couple by naming them “Great Montrealers.” In 2014, Concordia’s John Molson School of Business conferred honorary doctorates on the Hornsteins for their lifelong dedication to philanthropy.
Michal and Renata passed away almost exactly three months apart, in April and July 2016, respectively. They leave behind an unmatched legacy to the cultural development of Montreal and Canada.
