Spencer Hays (July 14, 1936 – March 1, 2017) was an American businessman and art collector. He was the majority owner and chairman of the executive committee of Southwestern family of companies. With his wife, he made the largest foreign donation to the Musée d'Orsay since its opening in 1986.

Early life

Spencer Hays was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He grew up in Gainesville, Texas. Hays played basketball in high school. He attended

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

on a basketball scholarship.

Career

As a student at TCU, Hays started his career with Southwestern Advantage in 1956. He became vice president of sales in 1966, executive vice president in 1971, and president in 1973. As Southwestern Advantage expanded into Southwestern Family of Companies, Hays became the chairman of its executive committee starting in 1983. He was the majority owner of Southwestern Family of Companies until the time of his death. Additionally, Hays founded Tom James Co., a fine clothing firm, in 1966. He purchased Oxxford Clothes, high-end men's suit and sport coat manufacturer, in 1994. He was the owner of Athlon Sports Communications, a publisher of sports manuals. Hays was inducted into the hall of fame of the

Direct Selling Association The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a trade association in the United States that represents direct selling companies, primarily those that use multi-level marketing compensation plans. On behalf of its members' companies, the DSA engages in pu ...

in 1983.

Art collection and philanthropy

With his wife, Hays began collecting

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

in the 1970s. By the 1980s, they began collecting

French art French art consists of the visual and plastic arts (including French architecture, woodwork, textiles, and ceramics) originating from the geographical area of France. Modern France was the main centre for the European art of the Upper Paleolith ...

, especially Les Nabis. Hays and his wife co-founded the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay in 2013. Hays served on its board of directors. In 2016, the couple donated 187 paintings worth £155 million to the museum. After their death, their donation will come up to 600 paintings worth £315 million. The donation includes paintings by Pierre Bonnard,

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior sc ...

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

, Odilon Redon, Edgar Degas,

Gustave Caillebotte Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early ...

, Camille Corot,

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French Sculpture, sculptor, Painting, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford ...

, Amedeo Modigliani and Albert Marquet. It was the largest foreign bequest to the museum since its opening in 1986. As a result, French president François Hollande thanked them for it and made them Commanders of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. On July 10, 2019 a second donation of 106 pièces of art (40 paintings, 47 drawings and 19 sculptures) of Bonnard, Vuillard, Maurice Denis,

Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as . He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...

, Georges Lacombe,

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his nota ...

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

, Odilon Redon,

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were more abstra ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

or Modigliani was given by Marlene Spencer to the Musée d'Orsay. Hays donated $2 million to his alma mater, Texas Christian University. He previously served on its board of trustees.

Personal life and death

Hays met his wife, Marlene, at 14; they married when he was 19. They resided in a mansion modeled after the Hôtel de Noirmoutier in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. They also owned an apartment in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. Hays died on March 1, 2017, at age 80.Tennessean: March 2nd, 2020: Nashville businessman Spencer Hayes man of books, sports and high end suits died
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Spencer 1936 births 2017 deaths People from Ardmore, Oklahoma People from Nashville, Tennessee Texas Christian University alumni Businesspeople from Tennessee American chairpersons of corporations American company founders American art collectors Philanthropists from Tennessee Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Oklahoma Philanthropists from Oklahoma People from Gainesville, Texas Businesspeople from Texas Philanthropists from Texas