Paul Mellon
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Paul Mellon (born June 11, 1907 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † February 1, 1999 in Upperville , Virginia ) was an American entrepreneur , philanthropist , art collector , art patron , breeder and owner of racehorses.
origin
Paul's grandfather Thomas Mellon (1813–1908) laid the foundation for the Mellon family's fortune . As a Protestant farmer's son, he emigrated to the USA from Northern Ireland in 1818 and had initially worked successfully as a lawyer before founding the Mellon Bank . His son Andrew Mellon (1855–1937) later took over the management of the bank and also invested in shipyards, oil, steel and construction companies. By Andrew Mellon's marriage to the 20-year younger Englishwoman Nora McMullen 1901 their first child was born Ailsa (1901-1969) to the world. Paul Mellon was born six years later. After the parents divorced in 1912, the children grew up with the father.
Life
Paul Mellon graduated from Yale University , where he was a member of a prestigious secret society, the Scroll and Key , and was assistant editor of the Yale Daily News . After graduating from Yale, he went to England to at Clare College of the University of Cambridge to study and graduated in 1931 graduated as a Bachelor (BA) from. In 1933 Paul Mellon returned to Pittsburgh and worked at Mellon Bank. In 1935 he married Mary Conover Brown and the couple moved to Virginia . After his father's death in 1937, Paul Mellon and his sister Ailsa Mellon Bruce inherited the considerable fortune and was one of the richest men in the United States. In 1940 he enrolled at St. John's College in Annapolis , Maryland , but after six months he enlisted in the United States Army . He served with the Office of Strategic Services in Europe and rose to major . After the death of his first wife, who died from an asthma attack , Paul Mellon was second married to Rachel Lowe Lambert .
Art collectors and patrons
Andrew Mellon had financed the construction of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC . In 1941 Paul Mellon donated the building and his father's collection of 115 paintings to the American state. For decades he was on the board of directors of the National Gallery, from 1938 to 1939 and from 1963 to 1978 as president, for the benefit of the museum and donated more than 1000 works to the museum in the course of his life.
Since 1936, Paul Mellon has amassed an important collection of British art, which he donated to Yale University in 1966, as well as funds for the construction of a museum by the architect Louis Kahn , the Yale Center for British Art . He also emerged as a patron of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia . Paul Mellon also founded the Old Dominion Foundation in 1941 and the Bollingen Foundation in 1945 .
Awards
- 1945 bronze star
- 1971 member of the American Philosophical Society
- 1974 Order of the British Empire , Knight Commander (KBE)
- 1985 National Medal of Arts
- 1989 Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Public Service from the American Philosophical Society
- 1992 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1994 honorary member of the British Academy
- 1997 National Medal of Arts and Humanities
Autobiography
- Paul Mellon: Reflections in a Silver Spoon . 1992, ISBN 0-688-09723-5 .
literature
- Paul Mellon's legacy. A passion for British art . Yale University Press, New Haven 2007, ISBN 978-0-300-11746-2
Web links
- Paul Mellon on the Yale Center for British Art website
- Paul Mellon on the National Gallery of Art page
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mellon, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur, philanthropist, art collector, and art patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 11, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 1, 1999 |
| Place of death | Upperville , Virginia |