Robert Lehman Foundation

On Mr. Lehman’s death in 1969, his entire collection, one of the most extraordinary and wide-ranging in the world, was bequeathed to the Foundation with the intention that it be transferred to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In accordance with Mr. Lehman’s wish that the collection be exhibited intact and in perpetuity, in a manner evoking the ambiance of his ancestral home. The Collection is now housed in the Robert Lehman Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Early Family History: 1844-1900

In the mid-nineteenth century, Henry, Mayer, and Emanuel Lehman, the sons of a cattle merchant and farmer from Rimpar, Germany, settled in Montgomery, Alabama, and opened a general store specializing in cotton goods, subsequently named Lehman Brothers. In 1858, Emanuel moved the family firm, by then a cotton commodity brokerage, to New York City, and in the decades following the Civil War, its substantial growth included a wide range of commodities trading. By the early twentieth century, Lehman Brothers was increasingly engaged with investment banking. In 1882, Emanuel’s son Philip Lehman joined the thriving firm and served as its managing partner from 1901-1925, when he was succeeded by his son Robert.

Around 1900, Philip and his wife Carrie built a townhouse at 7 West 54th Street in New York City (figs. 1-2), where they resided with their two young children, Robert and Pauline. Over the following decades, the residence would house a large portion of the family’s art collection.

Early History of the Collection: 1911–1920

When Philip began forming his collection in the early twentieth century, he was among an esteemed group of American collectors, including Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry Clay Frick, and J.P. Morgan. His very first purchases, dating to 1911, reflect his early interest in Old Master paintings, especially portraits of the Dutch, Spanish, and Italian schools (fig. 3).

Beginning around 1913, Philip and Robert began collecting fourteenth-and fifteenth-century Italian paintings with greater frequency. Robert was involved in the development of the Collection from its inception, initially assisting his father with purchases and soon after, acquiring works independently. In 1915, he purchased Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child (fig. 4) on Philip’s behalf.

The Collection: 1940–50

Over the next several years, Philip acquired several highly significant fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Sienese paintings (figs. 5-7), which now form the core of the Italian paintings in the Collection.

During this same period, between 1915 and 1920, Philip also acquired the most important Northern Renaissance paintings in the Collection (figs. 9-10). Other early acquisitions reflect Philip’s interests in the decorative arts, such as the aquamanile in the form of Phyllis and Aristotle, one of many such vessels in the Collection (fig. 8).

Robert’s keen interest in early Italian paintings continued to flourish during this period. In 1928, he purchased a small devotional panel by Botticelli (fig. 15), which may have been a birthday present for his father. In commemoration of Philip’s collection, the following year, Robert published a catalogue, entitled, The Philip Lehman Collection, New York, Paintings (fig. 14), which included his commentary on each work.

The Collection: 1930–1940

During the 1930s, Robert Lehman was increasingly drawn to decorative arts of the Renaissance period, acquiring at various sales, a significant number of bronze medals and plaquettes, French enamels, and Italian maiolica (fig. 16).

The Collection: 1940–1950

While Robert Lehman had purchased a limited number of nineteenth-century paintings and drawings in the previous decades, during the 1940s his attention was increasingly drawn to Modern French masters. Among these acquisitions were works by van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Seurat and Matisse (figs. 17-19).

Alongside his growing interest in modern artists, Robert’s continued dedication to Old Masters is reflected in several significant acquisitions in the mid-1940s, including some of the most celebrated drawings in the Collection, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Study of a Bear (fig. 20), Pollaiuolo’s Study for the Equestrian Monument to Francesco Sforza (fig. 21), as well as Rembrandt’s Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse (fig. 22).

Robert donated a number of Italian and French paintings, drawings, maiolica and other works to American institutions, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Kress Foundation, the Nelson Atkins Museum, and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. 

At this time, he also donated approximately thirty objects to The Metropolitan Museum of Art – to the Department of European Paintings and the Department of Asian Art. During the 1940s, Robert was not only a donor to The Metropolitan Museum of Art but was elected to the Board of Trustees (1941), and in 1948, was appointed as Vice President. His ties to the Museum would continue to grow over the next two decades.

The Collection: 1950–1960

The 1950s marked a significant shift towards a more public presentation of the Collection. During this period, the Lehman Collection was the subject of several exhibitions across the United States and abroad, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 23), the Louvre’s Musée de l’Orangerie (fig. 25), and the Yale University Art Gallery.

Throughout this period, Robert continued collecting broadly across several centuries of European art (figs. 26-28).

In 1958, Robert acquired a Crucifixion (fig. 29) by the early fifteenth-century Florentine master Lorenzo Monaco, which was displayed in his office at Lehman Brothers (fig. 31) along with another panel by the artist: a Nativity (fig. 30).

The Collection: 1960-1969

In the final years of his life, Robert Lehman continued to add significant works to his collection, including a major corpus of 124 eighteenth-century Venetian drawings, primarily by Tiepolo (fig. 32).

In 1961, Robert began refurbishing the 7 West 54th Street townhouse in an effort to create a private gallery. However, plans to make the Collection accessible to the public evolved over the course of the decade as he entered into discussions with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1967, having served as a Museum board member for twenty-six years, and as Vice President, Robert was named as Chairman of the Board. The following year, he reviewed design proposals for the installation of the Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in preparation for a donation.

At his death in August of 1969, Robert Lehman bequeathed the majority of his collection (approximately 2,700 objects) to The Robert Lehman Foundation, from which it transferred to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His will stipulated that the Collection be displayed together in a new wing (fig. 34), and installed in galleries that evoked the ambiance of the Lehman residence (figs. 35-36). In May of 1975, the Robert Lehman Wing, constructed on the western side of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was completed and opened to the public.