Artistic vision.

• Author: Walker, Cameron
• Position: ARTS IN N.C.

A HANDFUL OF N.C. FAMILIES HAVE HAD AN OUTSIZED IMPACT ON THE STATE'S ARTS COMMUNITIES. LOCAL ARTS OFFICIALS CITE THE MOST PROMINENT PATRONS.

THE GOODMONS

Jim Goodmon, CEO and president of Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting Co., and his wife, Barbara, oversee the family's A.J. Fletcher Foundation, which gave $10 million to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2001 to start an opera program and $500,000 to fund programming by UNC-TV in 2010. Another notable Goodmon project involved three Jaume Piensa sculptures, "Doors of Jerusalem," donated to the North Carolina Museum of Art in 2010.

THE KENANS

The Kenan family, which has poured tens of millions of dollars into North Carolina over the last century, remains active backers of the arts. Thomas S. Kenan III, vice chairman of the company that runs Florida's Breakers resort, pushed for the creation of what is now the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He also established the Kenan Music Scholars Program, which provides annual scholarships to four students. In 2010, he helped the museum acquire Jennifer Steinkamp's "Mike Kelley" video installation.

THE HANESES

The Hanes family has been championing art in North Carolina for decades. Gordon and Copey Hanes donated works by Pablo Picasso to the Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University and Salem College, helped establish UNC School of the Arts in the 1960s, and provided the first works to the N.C. Museum of Arts African collection. Their son Redge Hanes continues their legacy. In 1988, he lobbied U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms in a successful attempt to save public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, an experience reflected in his 2014 debut novel, Billy Bowater.

THE GOODNIGHTS

Jim Goodnight, co-founder and CEO of Cary-based software company SAS Institute, and his wife, Ann, have donated millions to education, but they have also given generously to the arts. Their name is on the state art museum's 164-acre sculpture park, and their contributions of art include the 20-foot-tall "Wind Sculpture II" by Yinka Shonibare MBE in 2014.

THE BLUMENTHALS

Brothers I.D. and Herman Blumenthal started a family foundation with proceeds from their Charlotte-based manufacturing business, best known for its Gunk products. The foundation was the largest private donor to the capital campaign for Charlotte's Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, above, which opened in 1992 and houses Belk Theater, Booth Playhouse and Stage Door Theater...