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 Southwestern is a diversified, international, employee-owned family of companies. History In 1855, Southwestern Publishing House was established in Nashville, Tennessee. The company's name was chosen because, at that time, Nashville was in the ...

. With his wife, he made the largest foreign donation to the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

since its opening in 1986.

Early life

Spencer Hays was born in

Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,698 in 2019. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimated ...

. He grew up in

Gainesville, Texas Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,002 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center. History Founded in 1850, the city of Gain ...

. Hays played basketball in high school. He attended Texas Christian University on a basketball scholarship.

Career

As a student at TCU, Hays started his career with

Southwestern Advantage Southwestern Advantage, formerly known as Southwestern Company, is an education material sales company based in Nashville, TN. Established in 1855, the privately-owned company recruits college and university students as independent contractors to ...

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 Oxxford Clothes is a luxury men's suit and sport coat manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. Individualized Apparel Group currently owns the brand. ''Forbes'' magazine has rated Oxxford as the best American-made suit. Oxxford Clothes was calle ...

, high-end men's suit and sport coat manufacturer, in 1994. He was the owner of

Athlon Sports Communications Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and now ...

, a publisher of sports manuals. Hays was inducted into the hall of fame of the Direct Selling Association in 1983.

Art collection and philanthropy

With his wife, Hays began collecting American art in the 1970s. By the 1980s, they began collecting French art, especially

Les Nabis Les Nabis (French: les nabis, ) were a group of young French artists active in Paris from 1888 until 1900, who played a large part in the transition from impressionism and academic art to abstract art, symbolism and the other early movements of m ...

. Hays and his wife co-founded the American Friends of the

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 Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...

, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis,

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolism (arts), symbolist painter, printmaker, Drawing, draughtsman and pastellist. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, he ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

, Gustave Caillebotte,

Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast o ...

, Aristide Maillol,

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

and

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturali ...

. It was the largest foreign bequest to the museum since its opening in 1986. As a result, French president

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

thanked them for it and made them Commanders of the Legion of Honour. 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, Georges Lacombe, Édouard Manet, Émile Bernard, Camille Claudel, Odilon Redon, Robert Delaunay, Henri Matisse 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 The Hôtel de Noirmoutier is a hôtel particulier in Paris, France. It was built in 1723. It has been listed by the French Ministry of Culture since February 12, 1996. The mansion served as a model for Spencer Hays's residence in Nashville, Tennes ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. They also owned an apartment in Manhattan, 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
/ref>

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