Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • Contact Us
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • AMMpro

Retrospectives

March 13, 2009 by Marion Maneker

Leonore AnnenbergFred Conrad for the New York Times

Lee Annenberg died yesterday. Here’s an excerpt from the obituary in the New York Times:

Mrs. Annenberg inherited $2 billion, succeeded her husband as chairman and president of the foundation, became a trustee emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was on the boards of the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Orchestra and other organizations. On Mr. Annenberg’s death in 2002, the $1 billion Annenberg art collection was given to the Metropolitan Museum.

She received many awards, but was especially pleased in 2004 when Queen Elizabeth II named her an honorary Commander of the British Empire for contributions to British-American relations. There was a back story. In 1969, when President Richard M. Nixon named her husband ambassador to Britain, the British press was generally unreceptive, calling him a pompous businessman with political connections and no diplomatic skills.

But Mrs. Annenberg, almost single-handedly, turned British opinion around, not with lavish parties but with a project that won acclaim. She renovated Winfield House, the 35-room ambassador’s residence in London, for under $1 million. The dowdy old Regent’s Park manse acquired Chippendale tables with inlaid satinwood, Lowestoft china, Ming chests, and, from the Annenberg collections, three Monets, two Gauguins, five Cézannes, two van Goghs, three Renoirs and a Toulouse-Lautrec.

Leonore Annenberg, Philanthropist, Dies at 91 (New York Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sammy Ofer Dies at 89Sammy Ofer Dies at 89
  • RetrospectivesRetrospectives
  • Frederick Hammersly, 90Frederick Hammersly, 90
  • Leo SteinbergLeo Steinberg
  • Richard Artschwager DiesRichard Artschwager Dies
  • RetrospectivesRetrospectives
  • Print
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Retrospectives

Advertise on Art Market Monitor with Nectar Ads

Top Posts

  • Frieze LA Sales Report
  • Sotheby's to Sell SFMoMA's $35m Rothko for Acquisitions Firepower
  • Early Gauguin Work Emerges at Sotheby's Paris After a Century in Same Family
  • Sotheby's Celebrates Bauhaus's Centenary with 25 Works in Imp-Mod Sales
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Artelligence Podcast: Selling Art in the Digital Age
  • Ropac Has Longo, Rosenquist and Castoro at Frieze LA
  • Louvre Abu Dhabi Announces Acquisition of £9.48m Rembrandt Study


  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • Art Loans
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Advertise on Art Market Monitor