Rita Fraad, 88; Art Collector Served on Museum Panels

Rita Fraad, 88, an art collector who lent works to major museums, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, died May 9 in Scarsdale, N.Y., of cardiac arrest.

Fraad’s extensive collection included 19th and 20th century works by such American artists as Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and Edward Hopper.

A graduate of Smith College, she gave several artworks to her alma mater. She was on the advisory board of the college’s renowned art museum until a year ago.

Fraad also sat on the visiting committee of American art and sculpture at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and lent several paintings to that museum for exhibit.

In addition, the collector was a trustee of the Archives of American Art, a division of the Smithsonian Institution that catalogs the records and papers of American artists, critics, art historians and museums.