Thanks to the donation of a University of Wisconsin alumnus, the Chazen Museum of Art now boasts a collection of sculptures worth an estimated $30 million, museum officials announced Monday.

More than 70 pieces make up the gift from the estate of New York Attorney Alvin S. Lane and his wife Terese, both of whom died earlier this year, including works by Julio Gonz?lez, Barbara Hepworth and Pablo Picasso.

“You’ve got some very prestigious names,” Chazen Director Russell Panczenko said. “It includes some of the biggest names of the 20th century.”

The museum is not accustomed to gifts of this size and prominence, Panczenko said.

“It’s a wonderful collection. It’s a collection we could not have if it wasn’t for a donation like this – we can’t afford it,” Panczenko said.

Panczenko said he met Lane in the late 1980s, aware of his attendance at UW 40 years before. Keeping in touch with alumni is important to Panczenko, and he said Lane told him about his art collection and invited him to see it.

Other artists whose works make up the collection include Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Lee Bontecou and David Smith.

Pieces donated by Lane and his wife will be on display following the completion of construction on the addition to the Chazen Museum, Panczenko said, which is scheduled for Oct. 2011.

Panczenko said the additional works would benefit students interested in art from the past century.

“The more access you have to richer works of art the more you’re in a position to do research and understand your subject matter,” Panczenko said. “As a resource for students studying 20th century art and art history, this is a very valuable asset.”

UW freshman Leeza Ilayna, who is leaning toward a major in art, agreed with Panczenko’s hope that students will find the collection beneficial.

“They get to study the actual artwork in person, which is helpful with sculptures. It’s nice to take a private collection and bring it into the public eye,” Ilayna said.

Ilayna said she felt the work would create a sense of community for UW and the donation is a testament to the magnificence of the museum as a whole.

“The donation is a sense of pride for the students because the school was chosen to receive a gift of this magnitude,” Ilayna said.

UW freshman Brandon Tudisco, who plans to major in nuclear engineering, said the donation would make him more likely to visit the museum because of the historical significance of the collection.

Biology major and UW freshman Teresa Thayyil said the collection will educate students of all interests and will add diversity to the artwork available for students to learn from.

The collection has an added benefit according to Thayyil, who said the more education students receive the more they will come to appreciate and support art in their communities.

Thayyil said she believed Lane and his wife chose the university for their collection because they knew the students and the Madison community would appreciate it the most.

“More art is always a good thing,” Thayyil said.