Benjamin Altman (July 12, 1840 – October 7, 1913) was a New York City department store owner and art collector who is best known today for his large art collection, which he donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Life and career Benjamin Altman was born on July 12, 1840, the son of Bavarian Jews who emigrated to America in 1835 and opened a small store on Attorney Street in New York City. After working in his father's dry goods store, Altman set out on his own. In 1865, Altman founded B. Altman and Company, a dry goods store located on Third Avenue and 10th Street in New York City. Over the years, the store grew in prosperity and expanded to several other locations. In 1877, a large storefront opened on Sixth Avenue; dubbed the "Palace of Trade" for its lavish architecture, Altman's store was one of the first to display clothing for different ages in different areas. In 1906, the B. Altman and Company Building opened on Fifth Avenue.Abrams, Jeanne. "Benjamin Altman." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified November 14, 2013.

Altman used his wealth to fund various initiatives in his native city. Shortly before his death on October 7, 1913, he founded the Altman Foundation, a charity to support educational institutions in New York City.

Art collections and portraits Benjamin Altman was an avid collector of Rembrandt paintings and Oriental porcelain, much of which he acquired through his friend, art dealer Henry J. Duveen. He was often advised in his painting purchases by Max Friedlander. Upon his death, he donated the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting collection alone was notable for including the museum's first Vermeer and 20 Rembrandts, though a few have since been devoted and reattributed. The collection also contains notable portraits of Flemish and German merchants from the Renaissance.

Paintings in the bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 imagetitlepainterdateaccession numberThe Met url Man with a Steel Gorget Style of Rembrandt 1648 14.40.601 MET Yonker Ramp and his sweetheart Frans Hals 1623 14.40.602 MET Old Woman in an Armchair Jacob Adriaensz Backer 1640 14.40.603 MET The Fingernail Test Frans HalsJudith Leyster 1626 14.40.604 MET Shrovetide Revellers Frans Hals 1616 14.40.605 MET Saint Justina of Padua Bartolomeo Montagna 14.40.606 MET Self-Portrait Gerrit Dou 1665 14.40.607 MET Rembrandt's Son Titus Style of Rembrandt 1680s 14.40.608 MET Old Woman Cutting Her Nails Style of Rembrandt 1650s 14.40.609 MET Pilate Washing His Hands Style of Rembrandt 1660s 14.40.610 MET A Girl Asleep Johannes Vermeer 1657 14.40.611 MET Young Woman Peeling Apples Nicolaes Maes 1655 14.40.612 MET Interior with a Young Couple Pieter de Hooch 1662 14.40.613 MET Entrance to a Village Meindert Hobbema 1690s 14.40.614 MET Portrait of a Woman, Called the Marchesa Durazzo Anthony van Dyck 14.40.615 MET Young Herdsmen with Cows Aelbert Cuyp 14.40.616 MET A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier Gerard ter Borch 14.40.617 MET Self portrait Rembrandt 1660 14.40.618 MET Lucas van Uffel (died 1637) Anthony van Dyck 1624s 14.40.619 MET Portrait of a man with gloves in hand Rembrandt 1648 14.40.620 MET Man with a Magnifying Glass Rembrandt 1660s 14.40.621 MET Woman with a Pink Carnation Rembrandt 1660s 14.40.622 MET Wheat Fields Jacob van Ruisdael 1670 14.40.623 MET Portrait of a Man ("The Auctioneer") Follower of Rembrandt 1658 14.40.624 MET Portrait of a Woman Rembrandt 1633 14.40.625 MET Portrait of Maria Portinari Hans Memling 1470 14.40.626–27 MET The Crucifixion Fra Angelico 14.40.628 MET Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace after Willem Drost; bequeathed as a Rembrandt in 1913 1654 14.40.629 MET Ulrich Fugger (1490–1525) Hans Maler zu Schwaz 1525 14.40.630 MET The Supper at Emmaus Diego Velázquez 14.40.631 MET Virgin and Child with Angels Bernard van Orley 14.40.632 MET Virgin and Child with Saint Anne Albrecht Dürer 1519 14.40.633 MET Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine Hans Memling 1479 14.40.634 MET Madonna and Child with Angels Workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio 1500s 14.40.635 MET Christ Taking Leave of His Mother Gerard David 14.40.636 MET Lady Lee (Margaret Wyatt, born about 1509) Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger 1540s 14.40.637 MET Federigo Gonzaga (1500–1540) Francesco Francia 1510 14.40.638 MET Philip IV (1605–1665), King of Spain Diego Velázquez 14.40.639 MET Portrait of a Man Titian 1512 14.40.640 MET Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and an Angel Raffaellino del Garbo 14.40.641 MET The Last Communion of Saint Jerome Sandro Botticelli 1495 14.40.642 MET The Holy Family with Saint Mary Magdalen Andrea Mantegna 1495 14.40.643 MET Portrait of a Man Dieric Bouts 1470 14.40.644 MET Portrait of a Young Man Antonello da Messina 14.40.645 MET Lady Rich (Elizabeth Jenks, died 1558) Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger 1540 14.40.646 MET Madonna and Child Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio 1470 14.40.647 MET Portrait of an old man Hans Memling 1475 14.40.648 MET Portrait of a Young Man Cosimo Tura 14.40.649 MET Portrait of Cardinal Filippo Archinto Titian 14.40.650 MET Bathsheba at her Toilette Rembrandt 1643 14.40.651 MET Changing Pasture Anton Mauve 14.40.810 MET The Ferryman Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot 1865s 14.40.811 MET Twilight Anton Mauve 14.40.812 MET A Pond in Picardy Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot 14.40.813 MET A Path among the Rocks Théodore Rousseau 14.40.814 MET The Banks of the Oise Charles-François Daubigny 1863 14.40.815 MET The Return to the Fold Anton Mauve 14.40.816 MET A Lane through the Trees Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot 14.40.817 MET A River Landscape with Storks Charles-François Daubigny 1864 14.40.818 MET The Edge of the Woods Narcisse Virgilio Díaz 1872 14.40.819 MET

There is a portrait of Altman in the New York State Museum in Albany; it was painted by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947) and donated to the New York Chamber of Commerce by Altman's business partner Michael Friedsam. Müller-Ury knew Altman personally as a client of art dealer Henry Duveen. He was compelled to paint from a photograph after Altman's death. He first completed a 50 x 40 (inch) portrait of Altman seated in his gallery with a Rembrandt behind him and a Chinese vase on a table beside him, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for whom this had been painted, chose another portrait of Altman by Ellen Emmet Rand also made from a photograph, and Müller-Ury's larger work went to the Foundation offices; it has since disappeared.American Art News, Vol. 13, No. 1 (October 10, 1914), pp. 1

References

External links

Altman Foundation

The Records of B. Altman & Co.1876-1955 at the New York Historical Society