Spencer Hays

Spencer Hays was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He grew up in Gainesville, Texas.

Hays played basketball in high school. He attended Texas Christian University on a basketball scholarship.

Hays started his career at the Southwestern Company in 1956. He was its vice president of sales since 1966, executive vice president since 1971, and president since 1973. He was the chairman of its executive committee since 1983. Additionally, he was the majority owner of the company.

Hays founded Tom James Co., a fine clothing firm, in 1966. He purchased Oxxford Clothes, high-end men's suit and sport coat manufacturer, in 1994. He was the owner of Athlon Sports Communications, a publisher of sports manuals.

Hays was inducted into the hall of fame of the Direct Selling Association in 1983.

With his wife, Hays began collecting American art in the 1970s. By the 1980s, they began collecting French art, especially Les Nabis.

Hays and his wife co-founded the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay in 2013. Hays served on its board of directors. In 2016, the couple donated 187 paintings worth £155 million to the museum. After their death, their donation will come up to 600 paintings worth £315 million. The donation includes paintings by Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Odilon Redon, Edgar Degas, Gustave Caillebotte, Camille Corot, Aristide Maillol, Amedeo Modigliani and Albert Marquet. It was the largest foreign bequest to the museum since World War II. As a result, French president François Hollande thanked him for it and made him a Commander of the Legion of Honour.

Hays donated $2 million to his alma mater, Texas Christian University. He previously served on its board of trustees.

Hays met his wife, Marlene, at 14; they married when he was 19. They resided in a mansion modeled after the Hôtel de Noirmoutier in Nashville, Tennessee. They also owned an apartment in Manhattan, New York City.

Hays died on March 1, 2017, at the age of 80.