In 1978, Helen Foresman Spencer, another female Kansas City collector, made a substantial gift to fund the construction of a new space, under the directorship of Charles C. Eldredge.

In 2016, the Spencer Museum of Art completed the first phase of a major renovation project, led by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

Situated within the updated galleries is the new 1,150-square-foot Ingrid & J.K. Lee Study Center, which features custom drawers and glass cases designed to display larger and three-dimensional works of art.

These architectural improvements provided an opportunity to rethink the presentation and interpretation of the Museum’s collection galleries, which reopened in November 2022 with four new exhibitions that expand the diversity of artworks and identities represented.

Phase II and the reinstallation of the collection galleries were supported by a $900,000 gift from the J.K. and Ingrid Lee Foundation, two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as private philanthropy, totaling over $4 million.