Throughout the ages, business titans have been patrons of the arts. Join us for a third year of private tours of the art collections of business giants and learn how their efforts helped create one of the most preeminent museums in the world.
Click here to make a reservation
Benjamin Altman was the son of Bavarian immigrants who emigrated to America in 1835, and opened a small store in New York City. In 1865, he founded B. Altman & Co. opening a store on Third Avenue and 10th Street in NYC. In 1906, he moved the business to Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, and this remained the flagship store until the business was closed by the Altman Foundation in 1990.
Benjamin Altman’s bequest constitutes one of the greatest gifts ever made by an individual to the Metropolitan Museum, notable alike for the wide range of interest it embraces and the uniformly high quality of its contents in whatever branch of art they represent. It was Mr. Altman's ambition to leave to the people of the city with which his success in life had been identified, for their perpetual use and enjoyment- a collection of works of art of the highest possible standard. His love for works of art, and his desire to collect them, grew from a native instinct. He made no pretension to being a connoisseur, but he had an exceptional degree of flair for fine quality; it was this which guided his collecting.
Altman began his career as a collector in 1882, with the purchase of a pair of Chinese enamel vases. In the years that followed his tastes varied, and the character of his collection changed accordingly. It grew to include Ming dynasty porcelain, Japanese lacquers, Persian rugs and paintings by old masters including Rembrandt, Hals, Van Dyk, Holbein, Velasquez, Botticelli and Cellini.
Andree Caldwell, who has been lecturing at the Metropolitan for over 25 years, will once again lead our tour. She holds two masters degrees in Fine Arts.
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Location: Metropolitan Museum, 1000 Fifth Ave. (82nd Street), New York. Enter through the museum’s main entrance and check in at the Group Registration Desk located in the Great Hall.
Time: 1:45 Meet at Group Registration Desk in Main Hall; 2:00 Tour begins
Cost: $25/Members; $35/Nonmembers & Guests
Organizer: Elena Crespo ’93
Click here to make a reservation
