PROPERTY FROM THE JOHN AND FRANCES L. LOEB COLLECTION*
(Lots 79-83)
John Langeloth Loeb was a pillar of Wall Street's old guard, a leading member of the investment community and long the head of the prestigious brokerage house Loeb, Rhoades & Company, which subsequently merged with Shearson Lehman. Under his aegis, Loeb, Rhoades became one of the most respected and powerful firms on Wall Street. Loeb was also a longtime governor of the New York Stock Exchange. His influence, presence and business acumen was legendary. Frances Lehman Loeb was New York City's commissioner for the United Nations and the Consular Corps for 12 years in the 1960s and 70s. She was the daughter of Arthur Lehman of the Lehman Brothers banking firm; the niece of Herbert H. Lehman, a former governor and senator of New York; the niece of Judge Irving Lehman, chief justice of the New York State Court of Appeals; the cousin of Philip and Robert Lehman, for whom the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art was named; and the granddaughter of Adolph Lewisohn, a prominent New York businessman, art collector and philanthropist in the early part of this century. A generous benefactor to numerous educational institutions, Mr. Lewisohn assembled an extraordinary collection of Impressionist and modern art characterized by its incomparable depth and quality.
In 1926, John Langeloth Loeb married Frances Lehman, and together they followed the standard set by Adolph Lewisohn. The Loebs were extremely generous patrons indeed. Their contributions to educational, cultural and other nonprofit institutions have totaled more than $200 million.
The Loebs devotion to higher education was resolute and unwavering: Harvard University, from which Mr. Loeb graduated in 1924, received a monumental $70.5 million gift, the largest gift the university has ever received and one of the 10 largest gifts ever to higher education in America. A $7 million gift was given to New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, of which Mr. Loeb served as chairman for many years. Another $7 million gift was given to Vassar College, Mrs. Loeb's alma mater, for the creation of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. It remains the largest gift ever given to Vassar. Other Loeb donations include the Loeb Drama Center at Harvard University and the Loeb Boat House in New York's Central Park.
Inspired by generations of discriminating collectors before them, the Loebs assembled a remarkable collection that reflected their personalitites as collectors as well as the consistent and unparalleled quality that is the hallmark of the family's collecting vision.
Attributed to Corneille de Lyon (c. 1500-c. 1575)
Portrait of a Gentleman, small bust length , wearing a gold embroidered tunic, a white collar and a black hat with a plume
Details
Attributed to Corneille de Lyon (c. 1500-c. 1575)
Portrait of a Gentleman, small bust length , wearing a gold embroidered tunic, a white collar and a black hat with a plume
oil on panel inset into panel
6¾ x 5½in. (17.2 x 14cm.)
Portrait of a Gentleman, small bust length , wearing a gold embroidered tunic, a white collar and a black hat with a plume
oil on panel inset into panel
6¾ x 5½in. (17.2 x 14cm.)
Provenance
Leopold Hirsch, London.
with Jacques Seligmann, New York.
Mrs. Arthur Lehman, New York, 1929, and by descent to the present owners.
with Jacques Seligmann, New York.
Mrs. Arthur Lehman, New York, 1929, and by descent to the present owners.
Literature
C. Virch, The Adele and Arthur Lehman Collection, New York, 1965, pp. 40-1, illustrated as Corneille de Lyon.
The Frances and John L. Loeb Collection, 1982, no. 1.
The Frances and John L. Loeb Collection, 1982, no. 1.