William Tilden Blodgett

William Tilden Blodgett (February 18, 1824 – November 4, 1875) was a New York City art collector who was instrumental in founding the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He was active in the American Civil War and organized the NYC Union League Club and the Sanitary Fair to raise funds for the wounded. He founded the newspaper The Nation and was a leader in establishing the American Museum of Natural History. He was a founding member of the committee to form the Met in 1869 and was its first chairman. He had been on the selection committee for the American works to be presented at the French exhibition of 1867 and thus felt he knew enough to purchase pictures for the young museum while abroad in 1870.

He purchased a total of 174 pictures which he financed together with John Taylor Johnston and about half of this "1871 purchase" is still in the museum.Today in MET History, museum blog in 2011

These pictures are:

imagetitlecreatorinceptioninventory numberThe Met url The Meeting of Alexander the Great and Diogenes Caspar de Crayer 71.1 MET A Vase with Flowers Jacob Vosmaer 71.5 MET A Vase of Flowers Margaretha Haverman 1716 71.6 MET The Holy Family with Saint Anne and the Young Baptist and His Parents Jacob Jordaens 71.11 MET The Yard of the Inn at Emmaus David Ryckaert 71.12 MET Rustic Interior David Ryckaert 71.13 MET A Cat Stealing Fish Giuseppe Recco 71.17 MET Vanitas Still Life Evert Collier 1662 71.19 MET Battle Scene Johannes Lingelbach 1671 71.23 MET The Sacrifice of Isaac Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo 71.28 MET Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome Giovanni Paolo Panini 71.31 MET Group Portrait: A Wedding Celebration Gillis van Tilborgh 71.32 MET Saint Remigius Replenishing the Barrel of Wine; (interior) Saint Remigius and the Burning Wheat Swiss Painter 1500 71.33ab MET Portrait of a Woman Bernhard Strigel 71.34 MET Jacob Willemsz. van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father Maarten van Heemskerck 1532 71.36 MET Saint Agapitus of Praeneste in the Arena; (interior) The Beheading of Saint Agapitus of Praeneste Swiss Painter 1500 71.40ab MET Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague-stricken of Palermo Anthony van Dyck 1624 71.41 MET A Basket and Birds Jan Fyt 71.43 MET A Hare and Birds Jan Fyt 71.44 MET A Partridge and Small Game Birds Jan Fyt 71.45 MET Portrait of a Young Woman Cornelis de Vos 71.46 MET Interior of a Gothic Church at Night Pieter Neeffs II 71.50 MET Midas Washing at the Source of the Pactolus Nicolas Poussin 71.56 MET Ducks Resting in Sunshine Jean-Baptiste Oudry 1753 71.57 MET The Farrier Aert van der Neer 71.60 MET View of Haarlem and the Haarlemmer Meer Jan van Goyen 1646 71.62 MET Portrait of a Man Abraham de Vries 1643 71.63 MET Interior of a Kitchen Willem Kalf 71.69 MET Portrait of Johan Hulshout (1623–1687) Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt 1670 71.70 MET Portrait of a Man Bartholomeus van der Helst 1647 71.73 MET Drawing the Eel Salomon van Ruysdael 71.75 MET Malle Babbe Style of Frans Hals 1700s 71.76 MET Still Life with a Glass and Oysters Jan Davidsz. de Heem 71.78 MET Beggars at a Doorway Master of the Béguins 1700s 71.80 MET Man in Armor (Mars?) Style of Rembrandt 1700s 71.84 MET Dog Guarding Dead Game Jean-Baptiste Oudry 1753 71.89 MET Study Head of a Woman Jean-Baptiste Greuze 71.91 MET The Forge Léonard Defrance 71.93 MET A Cavalry Engagement Adam Frans van der Meulen 71.96 MET Marine Salomon van Ruysdael 1650 71.98 MET Peasants Dancing and Feasting David Teniers the Younger 1660 71.99 MET The Adoration of the Magi Copy after Hugo van der Goes 1500s 71.100 MET The Rope Dance Léonard Defrance 71.105 MET A Banquet Dirck Hals 1628 71.108 MET The Spinner Quirijn van Brekelenkam 1653 71.110 MET The Pigeon House Roelof Jansz van Vries 71.116 MET Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a Landscape Abraham Brueghel 71.118 MET The Grand Canal above the Rialto Francesco Guardi 71.119 MET Santa Maria della Salute Francesco Guardi 71.120 MET The Investiture of Bishop Harold as Duke of Franconia Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 71.121 MET Peasants Dancing Johannes Lingelbach 1651 71.123 MET Rest Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem 1644 71.125 MET Johann I (1468–1532), the Constant, Elector of Saxony Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder 1532 71.128 MET View of the Town of Alkmaar Salomon van Ruysdael 71.135 MET Surprised, or Infidelity Found Out Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich 71.142 MET The Calling of Matthew Workshop of Jan Sanders van Hemessen 1600s 71.155 MET The Mourning Virgin; The Man of Sorrows Copy after Dieric Bouts 1600s 71.156–57 MET The Newborn Baby Matthijs Naiveu 1675 71.160 MET The Adoration of the Shepherds Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich 71.162 MET Abraham's Parting from the Family of Lot Jan Victors 71.170 MET

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