James Turrell, one of the world's most highly regarded living artists, has donated a Skyspace artwork to the Mattress Factory, a contemporary art museum in Pittsburgh. The gift, which is estimated to be worth in excess of $1 million, is the largest from an artist in the museum's 39-year history.

"This work will not only be an incredible contribution to the Mattress Factory but also to the city of Pittsburgh," said museum Co-Director and President Barbara Luderowski. She added that with the museum’s 40th anniversary approaching in 2017, “this will enable the institution to prepare for the future while remaining a leader in the contemporary art world.”

James Turrell's Skyspace works are specifically proportioned chambers with an aperture in the ceiling open to the sky. The aperture can be round, oval or square, and Skyspaces can be autonomous structures or integrated into existing architecture. Turrell has created 86 of these works in 29 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia in private and public spaces, with the first made in 1974 for Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo at his home in Varese, Italy. Turrell previously created a temporary Skyspace for the Mattress Factory's 25th anniversary celebration in 2002. The new Skyspace will be custom designed for the museum, and will be permanently installed.

The Mattress Factory has a long history with the artist, and was one of the first museums in the United States to permanently install Turrell's work. Between 1983 and 2002 the organization has shown 17 Turrell works, and currently has three pieces on view permanently. Mattress Factory Co-Director Michael Olijnyk said, "It's an honor to receive a piece from someone whom we've worked with for over 30 years."

The Mattress Factory Board of Directors is in the early stages of determining the feasibility and scope of a capital campaign that will be needed to fund the installation of the new Turrell work.

Born in Los Angeles in 1943 to a Quaker mother and a father who was a school administrator, James Turrell attended Pomona College, where he studied psychology and mathematics. He later received a master's degree in art from Claremont Graduate School. Turrell’s work has been widely acclaimed and exhibited since his first showing at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1967, which established him as a leader in the nascent Light and Space Movement in Southern California. His work has been the subject of hundreds of exhibitions for which he has received prestigious awards from the Guggenheim, Lannan, and MacArthur foundations. His work is represented in numerous public collections including the Tate Modern; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and the Israel Museum. Turrell’s most ambitious project is Roden Crater, an observatory created inside an inactive volcano in Arizona.