Robert Lehman
Encyclopedia
Robert Lehman was an American
banker, head of Lehman Brothers
for decades and a notable race-horse owner, and important art-collector and philanthropist.
, he was the son of Philip Lehman
(1861–1947), head of Lehman Brothers
investment bank. He was a 1913 graduate of Yale University
and member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity (Phi chapter). When his father retired in 1925, "Bobbie" Lehman assumed the leadership role of the family-owned business. He took over the bank during a time when Lehman Brothers, like its competitors Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley
, was essentially a one-office firm.
While sound financial principles were essential, Robert Lehman was often quoted as saying that he "bet on people." One of those people he believed in was Juan Trippe
who would build Pan American World Airways
into an industry powerhouse. Robert Lehman understood that to maximize Lehman Brothers' growth he needed additional investor capital. While still maintaining voting control, he was the first to invite non-family members to become partners. He understood too that the right partners could expand the company's opportunities through interlocking directorships. As such, he sold an interest in Lehman Brothers to John D. Hertz
who had sold his Yellow Cab
and The Hertz Corporation
for a fortune and who sat on the board of directors of General Motors. Under Robert Lehman, the bank concentrated on rapidly developing consumer industries with financing deals arranged in retailing, airlines, and the entertainment business notably with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre group 1928 deal that sold the majority of its stock to Joseph P. Kennedy which led to the creation of RKO motion picture studios. And, when Lehman put together start-up financing for Paramount Pictures
, John D. Hertz would be their connection on Paramount's board.
Robert Lehman guided his company through the perils of the stock-market crash of 1929
and the ensuing Great Depression
of the 1930s. Post-war, he grew the company substantially, expanding to Paris
, France
to meet the financial needs of his clients with international operations. In the process, he made himself one of the wealthiest people in the United States.
enthusiast, Robert Lehman played on a polo team with Averell Harriman
, Jock Whitney and Tommy Hitchcock, Jr.. He was also a thoroughbred
racehorse owner and breeder who had five horses compete in the Kentucky Derby
. His horses, most trained by Ralph G. Kercheval
, won numerous important stakes races including the Correction Handicap and the Long Island Handicap
at Aqueduct Racetrack
, and the Bernard Baruch Handicap
at Saratoga Race Course
.
. The importance of his collection became such that in 1957, nearly three hundred works were used for a solo exhibit at the Louvre Museum's
Musée de l'Orangerie
in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. At that time, his was the only private American collection to be given that honor. In 1968 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Yale University
for having "enhanced the civic life, the culture, and the artistic development of our civilization."
After his death in 1969, the Robert Lehman Foundation donated close to 3,000 works of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Housed in the Robert Lehman Wing, which opened to the public in 1975, the museum has called it "one of the most extraordinary private art collections ever assembled in the United States". To this day, his Foundation remains active, operating the Robert Lehman Art Lecture Fund and sponsoring exhibitions in museums, both around the U.S. and worldwide. Other philanthropic activities include support for PBS television programming. The Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School
in North Andover
, Massachusetts is named in his honor.
and Ruth Bryan
and granddaughter of United States Secretary of State
, William Jennings Bryan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
banker, head of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
for decades and a notable race-horse owner, and important art-collector and philanthropist.
Biography
Born in New York CityNew 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...
, he was the son of Philip Lehman
Philip Lehman
Philip Lehman was a Jewish-American investment banker. Born in New York City to Emanuel and Pauline , his father, was a co-founder of investment bank, Lehman Brothers. Philip became a partner in the family-owned firm in 1887 and was the firm's managing partner from 1901 to 1925...
(1861–1947), head of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
investment bank. He was a 1913 graduate of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity (Phi chapter). When his father retired in 1925, "Bobbie" Lehman assumed the leadership role of the family-owned business. He took over the bank during a time when Lehman Brothers, like its competitors Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, was essentially a one-office firm.
While sound financial principles were essential, Robert Lehman was often quoted as saying that he "bet on people." One of those people he believed in was Juan Trippe
Juan Trippe
Juan Terry Trippe was an American airline entrepreneur and pioneer, and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the world's most prominent airlines of the twentieth century.-Early years:...
who would build Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
into an industry powerhouse. Robert Lehman understood that to maximize Lehman Brothers' growth he needed additional investor capital. While still maintaining voting control, he was the first to invite non-family members to become partners. He understood too that the right partners could expand the company's opportunities through interlocking directorships. As such, he sold an interest in Lehman Brothers to John D. Hertz
John D. Hertz
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist.-Biography:...
who had sold his Yellow Cab
Yellow Cab
There are many Yellow Cabs taxicab operators around the world . The original Yellow Cab Company, based in Chicago, Illinois is one of the largest taxicab companies in the United States.- History :...
and The Hertz Corporation
The Hertz Corporation
Hertz Global Holdings Inc is an American car rental company with international locations in 145 countries worldwide.-Early years:The company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model T Ford cars. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John D...
for a fortune and who sat on the board of directors of General Motors. Under Robert Lehman, the bank concentrated on rapidly developing consumer industries with financing deals arranged in retailing, airlines, and the entertainment business notably with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre group 1928 deal that sold the majority of its stock to Joseph P. Kennedy which led to the creation of RKO motion picture studios. And, when Lehman put together start-up financing for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, John D. Hertz would be their connection on Paramount's board.
Robert Lehman guided his company through the perils of the stock-market crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
and the ensuing Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s. Post-war, he grew the company substantially, expanding to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to meet the financial needs of his clients with international operations. In the process, he made himself one of the wealthiest people in the United States.
Thoroughbred horses
A lover of horses and a poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
enthusiast, Robert Lehman played on a polo team with Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
, Jock Whitney and Tommy Hitchcock, Jr.. He was also a thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse owner and breeder who had five horses compete in the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. His horses, most trained by Ralph G. Kercheval
Ralph Kercheval
Ralph G. Kercheval was an American football running back and placekicker who played seven seasons in the National Football League for the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Thoroughbred horse racing:...
, won numerous important stakes races including the Correction Handicap and the Long Island Handicap
Long Island Handicap
The Long Island Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in November at Aqueduct Racetrack, in Ozone Park, Queens, New York...
at Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, and the Bernard Baruch Handicap
Bernard Baruch Handicap
The Bernard Baruch Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early to mid August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for three year olds and up willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the turf and carries a purse of $200,000...
at Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
.
Art collection
For six decades he built upon an art collection begun by his father in 1911 and devoted a great deal of time and energy as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. The importance of his collection became such that in 1957, nearly three hundred works were used for a solo exhibit at the Louvre Museum's
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
Musée de l'Orangerie
Musée de l'Orangerie
The Musée de l'Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Though most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse,...
in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. At that time, his was the only private American collection to be given that honor. In 1968 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
for having "enhanced the civic life, the culture, and the artistic development of our civilization."
After his death in 1969, the Robert Lehman Foundation donated close to 3,000 works of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Housed in the Robert Lehman Wing, which opened to the public in 1975, the museum has called it "one of the most extraordinary private art collections ever assembled in the United States". To this day, his Foundation remains active, operating the Robert Lehman Art Lecture Fund and sponsoring exhibitions in museums, both around the U.S. and worldwide. Other philanthropic activities include support for PBS television programming. The Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School
Brooks School
Brooks School is a private, co-educational, preparatory, secondary school in North Andover, Massachusetts on the shores of Lake Cochichewick.-History:...
in North Andover
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....
, Massachusetts is named in his honor.
Personal life
He married Ruth Leavitt, daughter of William Homer LeavittWilliam Homer Leavitt
William Homer Leavitt was an American portrait painter who married the daughter of politician William Jennings Bryan. For a time, Leavitt was a sought-after society portraitist, until he departed for Paris to pursue his art. He was subsequently divorced by his wife, and his two children were...
and Ruth Bryan
Ruth Bryan Owen
Ruth Bryan Owen was the daughter of William Jennings Bryan and mother of Helen Rudd Brown. A Democrat, in 1929 she became Florida’s first woman representative in the United States Congress, coming from Florida’s 4th district. Representative Owen was also the first woman to earn a spot on the...
and granddaughter of United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
.