Michael Friedsam
Col. Michael Friedsam (1860–1931) was an American philanthropist of New York City. Friedsam was the former president of B. Altman and Company and one of the premier art collectors in America at that time.
Michael Friedsam | |
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Born | 1860 |
Died | 1931 |
Nationality | United States of America |
The Friedsam residence located at 44 East 68th Street was built in 1921. The five-story building fashioned in limestone was designed by Frederick Frost, with wrought ironwork by Samuel Yellin. Friedsam's collection contained numerous masterpieces by artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Jan Van Eyck, and Botticelli. After Friedsam's death in 1931, the residence became a top-rated Catholic high school for girls, Dominican Academy. Many of the original architectural elements, including carved marble fireplaces, stained glass windows, and ornate woodwork, are still in place today creating a unique environment for learning.
Friedsam never married and left a fortune to the city of New York.[1] A large part of his collection was bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and another part to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Today the Brooklyn museum would like to divest some of the works but are restricted by the bequest.[2]
The list of paintings from the MET bequest still in the collection are:
References
- information on Metropolitan Museum of Art website
- Man who gave Brooklyn Museum restricted gifts in 1930s leaves no heirs, so Surrogate Court to decide outcome article in Brooklyn Eagle
- 1932 article about Friedsam on website of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency