THE WHAT? Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, has agreed to donate New York’s Neue Galerie and its collection, including a US$135 million Gustav Klimt painting, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
THE DETAILS The donation includes the Neue Galerie’s Fifth Avenue building, more than 600 artworks and a collection focused on early 20th-century German and Austrian art and design. The gallery, founded by Lauder in 2001, will become the Met Ronald S Lauder Neue Galerie following the merger, which is expected to be completed in 2028. One of the collection’s most notable works is Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which Lauder purchased in 2006 for a then-record US$135 million after it was restituted to the heir of its original owner following Nazi seizure during World War II. Lauder and his daughter, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, are also donating an additional 13 paintings and funds to support the gallery’s future operations and preservation.
THE WHY? The donation is intended to preserve the Neue Galerie’s legacy long term while ensuring wider public access to its collection through integration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Source: The Financial Times
