For over 60 years, the Wrightsmans supported The Met through their tireless involvement in the institution and through gifts of European paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, decorative arts, and rare books. Their creation of an acquisition fund enabled the Museum to make purchases of great importance, many of which stretched beyond the couple's own patterns of collecting. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Wrightsmans embarked on a project to improve The Met's French period rooms and purchased additional paneling for several new spaces. The galleries that bear their names display 18th-century furniture and furnishings, largely from their collection. The Wrightsmans were also champions of the Department of European Paintings, giving and providing funding for the purchase of masterpieces such as Johannes Vermeer's Study of a Young Woman, Peter Paul Rubens's self-portrait with his family, and Jacques Louis David's landmark portrait depicting Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife, as well as supporting critical conservation efforts. Charles became a Trustee of the Museum in 1956 and was named Trustee Emeritus in 1975. Jayne, who developed a deep knowledge of French art, was elected a Benefactor in 1963 and joined the Board of Trustees in 1975. Between 1975 and 1997, she served first as a member and then as Chairman of the Museum's Acquisitions Committee.

Johannes Vermeer 'Dutch, 1632–1675), Study of a Young Woman, ca. 1665–67. Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 40 cm. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in memory of Theodore Rousseau Jr., 1979 (1979.396.1). © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp), Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Frans (1633–1678), ca. 1635. Oil on wood, 203.8 x 158.1 cm. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238). © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Jacques Louis David (French, Paris 1748–1825 Brussels), Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), 1788. Oil on canvas, 259.7 x 194.6 cm. Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10). © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

A selection of works from Jayne Wrightsman's bequest will be on display from November 15, 2019 through February 16, 2020. The Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts will exhibit 55 small objects in Gallery 545, from a pair of 17th-century Italian porphyry urns to an 18th-century French porcelain inkstand in the form of a pomegranate. In the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery (Gallery 690), the Department of Drawings and Prints will present works on paper from the Wrightsman Collection, including a portrait of Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and a pair of drawings by Louis de Carmontelle, alongside several exquisitely bound rare books. The Department of European Paintings will feature 22 paintings in Gallery 630—such as works by Canaletto, Eugène Delacroix, Anthony van Dyck, Théodore Gericault, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Georges Seurat, and others—and will identify these and other European paintings previously given by the Wrightsmans with a "W" on the label of each painting.

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris), Marie Antoinette in a Park, ca. 1780–81. Black, stumped, and white chalk on blue paper. Sheet: 58.9 × 40.4 cm. Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019 (2019.138.4). © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.