In honor of the Warmath family’s 60 years of support to the Weatherspoon Art Museum, its iconic central atrium has been named Warmath Commons in recognition of Sarah Dew Warmath and her late husband, Jack.
The naming ceremony was held this fall. Says Juliette Bianco, the Anne and Ben Cone Memorial Endowed Director of the Weatherspoon, “That celebration was not only about naming a space, but also about recognizing a legacy of community and care.”
Sarah and Jack held early roles in raising funds for the Anne and Benjamin Cone Building, home of the Weatherspoon. She has given many years of service to the Weatherspoon Guild, and her son Tim Warmath has provided leadership on the Weatherspoon Art Museum Council. This spirit of volunteerism and service will live on in the Sarah Dew Warmath Museum Service Award, which the Weatherspoon created in Sarah’s honor. At a ceremony in September, she became its first recipient.
At the Weatherspoon, I always see something I want to know more about. That’s part of the fun.
—Sarah Warmath
As the gateway to the museum, Warmath Commons is where a journey of curiosity begins for students, community members, and art lovers of all ages. Sarah and Jack supported the acquisition of one of the Weatherspoon’s most recognizable works, which rings the 2,140-foot space of Warmath Commons. “The Frieze” (1982), by American artist Tom Otterness, reflects influences from the architecture and iconography of many cultures: for example, Indian temples, Greek altars, Aztec pyramids, and Christian churches. Its acquisition was dedicated to the memory of Sarah’s parents, Sarah Ford and Henry Worsham Dew.
Otterness is a prolific sculptor with works in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. noted how far the Weatherspoon has come due to the support of people like the Warmaths. “They understood early on what this museum could be and helped transform what was once a small campus gallery into one of the most respected university art museums in the country.” A recent major gift by the Warmath family was part of the Light the Way campaign, which has raised over $240 million and continues through Dec. 31, 2025.
Photo of The Frieze by Martin W. Kane
Photo of Sarah Warmath by Carolyn de Berry