Luman Reed
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n merchant and an important patron of the arts. His support for the painters George Whiting Flagg
George Whiting Flagg
George Whiting Flagg from New Haven, Connecticut, was an American painter of historical scenes and genre pictures...
and Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist. He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century...
were particularly significant contributions to the development of American painting during the early 19th century. He also commissioned works from artists such as Asher B. Durand.
Biography
Reed was born on a farm in Green River (in the area that is now AusterlitzAusterlitz, New York
Austerlitz is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,453 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the Battle of Austerlitz.The Town of Austerlitz is in the east part of Columbia County.- History :Ellis, Capt...
), New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He began his business career as a store clerk in the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
village of Coxsackie, New York
Coxsackie (village), New York
Coxsackie is a village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census. The village name is a native word mak-kachs-hack-ing, and when purchased by the Dutch settlers was written as Koxhackung...
, where his family relocated (c. 1789) before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1815. There he became one of the city's most prominent merchants with the Front Street dry-goods firm he established with various partners, the last being Jonathan Sturges
Jonathan Sturges
Jonathan Sturges was an American lawyer and jurist from Fairfield, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut as a delegate to the Continental Congress and in the United States House of Representatives....
(1802–1874). With his wealth, Reed assembled in the course of six years one of the earliest and most significant collections of European and American art
American Art
American Art is the debut album of the band Weatherbox. It was released on May 8, 2007 on Doghouse Records. The album received critical acclaim from several sources including underground music distribution company Smartpunk, who lauded the band's style:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which he displayed in a specially designed two-room gallery in his house on Greenwich Street in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Philanthropy
Making his mark as a patron of both established and aspiring contemporary American artists, Reed attempted to nurture the creation of a national artistic culture as sophisticated and accomplished as that of Europe. His interest in landscape painting and portraiturePortrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
notwithstanding, Reed was also an avid collector of genre paintings depicting scenes from everyday life.
In 1844, his substantial collection was purchased by a group of his associates in New York with the intention to form a public art collection, later the New York Gallery of Fine Arts. The collection was later donated to the New York Historical Society in 1858. It is one of the most important early 19th-century collections of American art that survives intact.