Iris Cantor, a collector and philanthropist who provided the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and other US art institutions with millions of dollars worth of support, died on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida. She was 95, according to a release from her foundation, which did not state a cause.

Cantor was a transformative force in the American art world, with her patronage significantly reshaping some of the nation’s top museums. She helped steward the legacy of her husband, B. Gerald Cantor, who died in 1996; through a foundation in her name, she also made donations to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and others.

Met director Max Hollein said in a statement, “Her legacy is one of imagination, conviction, and unwavering belief in the essential role museums play—not only in what they show, but also in what they help us understand about ourselves and the world around us.”

Signs of her patronage are visible not only within museum walls but on them too.…