Robert Lehman

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For the speed skater, see Robert Lehmann. For the biochemist, see I. Robert Lehman.

Robert Lehman
Born
Robert Owen Lehman

September 29, 1891
Robert Owen Lehman Jr.
Parents
FamilyLehman family

Robert Owen Lehman, Sr. (September 29, 1891 – August 9, 1969) was an American banker, longtime head of the

philanthropist
.

Life and career

Lehman was born to a

investment bank, and Carrie Lauer (1865–1937).[2]

He graduated from Hotchkiss School in 1908[1] and was a 1913 graduate of Yale University, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter). When his father retired in 1925, "Bobbie" Lehman assumed the leadership role of the family-owned business. He took over the bank during a time when Lehman Brothers, like its competitors Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, was essentially a one-office firm.

While sound financial principles were essential, Robert Lehman was often quoted as saying that he "bet on people." One of those people he believed in was

RKO motion picture studios. And, when Lehman put together start-up financing for Paramount Pictures
, John D. Hertz would be their connection on Paramount's board.

Robert Lehman guided his company through the perils of the stock-market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression of the 1930s. Post-war, he grew the company substantially, expanding to Paris, France, to meet the financial needs of his clients with international operations. In the process, he made himself one of the wealthiest people in the United States.

Thoroughbred horses

A lover of horses and a

Long Island Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, and the Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga Race Course
.

Art collection

For six decades, Lehman built upon an art collection that his father began at their

Tuileries Gardens
in Paris. At that time, his was the only private American collection to be given that honor. In 1968 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Yale University for having "enhanced the civic life, the culture, and the artistic development of our civilization."

After his death in 1969, the Robert Lehman Foundation donated close to 3,000 works of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Henri Matisse, Francisco Goya, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Édouard Vuillard, Auguste Rodin, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Suzanne Valadon.[4] Housed in the Robert Lehman Wing, which opened to the public in 1975, the museum has called it "one of the most extraordinary private art collections ever assembled in the United States."[5] To this day, the foundation remains active, operating the Robert Lehman Art Lecture Fund and sponsoring exhibitions in museums, both around the U.S. and worldwide. The foundation also provides funding and support for PBS television programming. The Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, is named in his honor.

Personal life

Robert's first marriage—to Ruth S. (née Lamar) Rumsey (born 1902) in May 1929 in Montreal, Quebec[6]—ended in a divorce about 1931. Previous to her marriage to Robert, Ruth Lamar had been married to John Williams "Jack" Rumsey (1877–1960), who was owner of the Embassy Club (a nightclub in New York City) and president of the American Play Company (an old established literary agency located at 532 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan).[6][7]

Robert's second marriage, which occurred on June 25, 1934, in Washington, D.C., was to Ruth "Kitty" (Leavitt) Meeker (1904–1984), daughter of William Homer Leavitt and Ruth Bryan Owen, and granddaughter of United States Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan. They had one son, cinematographer and director, Robert "Robin" Owen Lehman Jr. Meeker had three daughters from her first marriage to William Painter Meeker (1902–1983) whom she divorced in 1933: Ruth Meeker, Helen Meeker, and Kathrine Meeker.[8] Robert and Ruth Meeker's marriage also ended in divorce in 1951.

Robert's third marriage—to Lee "Elena" (Anz) Lynn (1919–2006)—occurred on July 10, 1952, in New York.[9]

He died August 9, 1969, and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.

References

  1. ^ a b "Alumni Accomplishments". The Hotchkiss School. 2004. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  2. ^ The Frick Collection website: "Lehman, Philip, 1861-1947" retrieved April 2, 2012
  3. ^ Lamont, Lansing. "Tom Hoving and the Met Builds", People magazine, November 17, 1975. [1].
  4. OCLC 13642651
    .
  5. ^ "The Robert Lehman Collection". Metropolitan Museum of Art - Press Releases. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Mrs. Ruth Rumsey Weds Robert Lehman; Quietly Married to New York Banker in Montreal--Couple Sail on the Olympic". New York Times. May 18, 1929. p. 18. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  7. ^ Schenectady Gazette: Daughter of Ruth Bryan Owen marries Lehman cousin" June 26, 1934
  8. ^ History and Families of Marion County Illinois: William Jennings Bryan retrieved April 2, 2012
  9. ^ Biographical Dictionary of U.S. Business Leaders By John N. Ingham

External links

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