Neuberger Museum of Art COVER

 

By Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

PURCHASE, N.Y. — When a young New Yorker followed his fancy to Paris in the 1920s, he laid the foundation for both a remarkable collection of art and an equally remarkable business career, each a product of his exceptionally discerning eye and keen mind. It proved to be the beginning of the formation of a true Renaissance man.

That young man was Roy R. Neuberger, who today, some 80-plus years later, is looking forward to celebrating his 102nd birthday and has had the prestigious Neuberger Museum built in his honor. Antiques and The Arts Weekly caught up with him recently, spending an informative afternoon in his comfortable Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, chatting extensively about his extraordinary collection and his bullish life on Wall Street.

Neuberger set sail from New York in 1924, a few weeks shy of his 21st birthday. Profoundly influenced by John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga, he had decided that European study would be a fine substitute for a college education. He was correct.

Neuberger left New York University at 17 after one semester and took a job at B. Altman, the late, lamented Manhattan department store, where he worked in the home decoration department. There he discovered an innate aesthetic appreciation and began studying painting, for which he later realized he had no aptitude. He had a good eye, though, and it has stood him in good stead ever since.

It was the “Roaring Twenties” in Paris, and Neuberger made wise use of his time. He took classes at the Sorbonne and he found a job with Alexandre Dumas, purveyor of Art Deco objects and antiques. He made enough money selling antiques that he was able to live the good life. He followed the pursuits of any young man lucky enough to find himself in such a situation, seeking out fine art and fine food and cultivating interesting friendships. He and his friends met at the Café des Deux Magots, where they discussed art and ideas for hours on end.

Although by the time Neuberger arrived in Paris, most of the Impressionists were gone and Picasso and Matisse were the eminences gris, Neuberger was attracted immediately to Matisse’s use of color and that attraction has endured.

Neuberger himself describes it best: “I was attracted by art and ladies in those days.” He visited the Louvre Museum at least three times each week and says today, “It was my education.” He was spellbound on his first visit by the marble “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” an impression that has endured a lifetime. He adds, “I was passionate about the Louvre.” He was passionate about a lot of other things, too.

He loved Paris, but not when it drizzled, a chill he describes as “penetrating,” so he acquired a jazzy little Citroen cabriolet that he drove to the south of France where he was part of a seasonal and international colony. It was not all art museums and women, though. Neuberger was a formidable athlete who defeated Fred Perry, future three-time Wimbledon tennis champion, although he is quick to point out that Perry was 16 and he was 23 at the time.

Neuberger studied and read voraciously during his time in France. He was particularly dismayed by Floret Fels’ story of Vincent van Gogh’s impoverishment and the lack of interest in his work during his lifetime. He resolved to do what he could to prevent that fate from happening to artists in America.

He knew he needed funds for such a progress, and in 1929 he headed back to New York and straight to Wall Street where he began his new life as a runner. Admittedly, he knew nothing of the market but he made up in determination what he lacked in knowledge.

Six months later, the stock market crashed, but, as he puts it, “Most everyone retreated from Wall Street, while I seemed to prosper.” Many left the business but Neuberger persevered. He found that his aptitude for Wall Street was as great as the one he had for art. He observes mildly, “I had a very good instinct for Wall Street.” Ten years later, he and Robert Berman founded Neuberger & Berman, which today is a highly regarded $55 billion money management firm. Never one to be idle, Neuberger only retired from the company a few years ago; he has since written a couple of memoirs. The first, So Far, So Good — The First 94 Years, is an interesting read about his life and his philosophy. The second, The Passionate Collector, describes his evolution as a collector.

Neuberger’s philosophy of collecting was a simple one: he bought the works only of living American artists. For the most part, he bought through their dealers, thereby assuring that the artist would receive the proceeds. When he began collecting, the ratio was two-thirds to the artist and one-third to the dealer. He also says he bought on instinct and “always acted with great rapidity.”

Over the years, Neuberger has bought thousands of works of art. Or, as he puts it, “A lot.” He has donated many of them to an array of institutions. At the same time he often provided funds for those institutions to acquire additional work by the artists. He never sold the work of any living artist, wryly explaining, “I sold stock, but I collected art.”

In late December, the view from Neuberger’s apartment overlooking Central Park is particularly Bruegelesque, with skeletal trees and dark figures flashing back and forth on the skating pond against a dramatic backdrop of the vertical lines of distant buildings. The vista is a profound complement to the exceptional art within Neuberger’s home.

His home is filled with work by artists whose work he has loved. Are there any favorites? “None,” he responds. “They are like my children; they’re all my favorites. Although,” he added with a grin, “they’re better behaved.”

His spacious living room is home to two favored paintings by Milton Avery, a portrait of the artist’s daughter March and a self-portrait. Marsden Hartley’s iconic “Fishermen’s Last Supper” hangs above the fireplace and tells a sad story of love and loss. Rufino Tamayo’s stunning “Woman Spinning” hangs off to the side of the fireplace in a wide space that it richly deserves. Although Tamayo was Mexican, Neuberger compromised his rules, reasoning that he bought the picture while the artist lived in New York where he painted and taught at the Dalton School.

A splendid Arthur Dove, “Holbrook’s Bridge to the Northwest,” occupies another wall, and Horace Pippin’s “Cabin in the Cotton III,” yet another. Under each of those impressive paintings are notable bronzes by Elie Nadelman. Another bronze in the room is by Henry Moore, fittingly above it hangs a painting by the artist.

Alexander Calder’s arresting “Snake on the Arch,” a unique work by Neuberger’s close friend, occupies a place of prominence. He once described Calder as “the most charming man in America.” Maybe so, but Neuberger himself is particularly captivating.

Ever the urbane New Yorker, Neuberger is both charming and gracious. He muses, “I was a tough player to beat. I was a very tough competitor,” he said, referring to his collecting strategy. That statement, however, also easily encompasses his business and tennis acumen.

His earliest purchases were William Gropper’s pen and ink drawing “Two Men Pouring Wine” and Guy Maccoy’s “February Feeding,” both purchased in 1937.

What Neuberger terms his first “moderately important” purchase was Peter Hurd’s “Boy from the Plains” that he bought in 1939. He says it made him think of the Italian Renaissance painters, although it is more lightly painted than they are. That picture, he says dryly, “has not been living with me lately.” His family loved it, his daughter, in particular, and it hangs in her New Mexico home.

Neuberger bought as he could afford; as he prospered, he sometimes bought several pieces a day. His instincts were unerring. Most Twentieth Century American artists are represented in his collection.

The painter with whom Neuberger is most closely associated is Avery. Neuberger bought his first Avery directly from the artist in his studio residence in Greenwich Village. The painting was “Gaspé Landscape.” He wrapped it up and raced uptown to framer Herman Wechsler. The painting is a beautiful composition with seductive planes of color that hangs in his foyer today.

Neuberger calls Avery a natural painter, “He worked more easily than most artists — he drew in paint, easily.”

Over the years, Neuberger bought more than 100 Avery paintings. He has donated around 60 of them to institutions, among them the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney, where he is an honorary trustee to this day.

Neuberger bought an even greater quantity of work by Louis Michel Eilshemius. He also acquired work by Georgia O’Keeffe, Maurice Prendergast, William Baziotes, Romare Bearden and Will Barnet, to name just a few.

Neuberger rates Avery, Calder, Edward Hopper, David Smith and Stuart Davis as the most important American artists of the Twentieth Century. He calls Davis “a splendid artist whose work I like enormously.” He described Davis as a more intellectual painter than Avery. Where Avery would paint a picture in a day or two, he explained, Davis sometimes took six months to complete a canvas. Neuberger bought two Davis works, “Barber Shop” and “Shapes of Landscape Space,” both from prior owners of the works. He has expressed regret that the artist did not profit from those purchases.

As his collection evolved, Neuberger became a major player in the New York art scene. He served on the boards of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art and was an advisor to countless other major institutions. His collection was much in demand, and he loaned pieces frequently.

Another prodigious collector, Nelson Rockefeller had long eyed Neuberger’s collection and had, in fact, made an anonymous offer to buy it. Neuberger resisted; as he put it, he was a collector, not a seller. In 1967, Rockefeller, then governor of New York, tried again. He offered to build a museum to house Neuberger’s collection on the then-planned Westchester County campus of the State University of New York. Neuberger was intrigued and accepted, and the Neuberger Museum of Art opened in 1974 in a stunning building designed by Philip Johnson. The building itself is a gem designed for dramatic enhancement of the objects on view.

Many of Neuberger’s other “children” comprise the permanent collection at the museum.

“The Red Ear,” Calder’s large and playful red, yellow and black hanging mobile, dominates the space above the staircase to the second floor. It moves delicately on the slightest air current. Calder and Neuberger shared much, most particularly an affinity for Matisse and joyful color. Over the years, Neuberger has acquired a number of his friend Calder’s works, including many unique examples.

Another remarkable piece is Hopper’s arresting “Barber Shop” that the artist painted in 1931. It is the largest oil on canvas on view, measuring 60 by 78 inches. Neuberger commented that he looked for a long time for what he deemed a great Hopper and found this one in 1954 in the artist’s home in Truro, Mass. It is a painting that Neuberger continues to hold in great esteem.

Over the years, Neuberger has acquired and donated pieces by Bearden to several institutions. The example on view in Purchase is the artist’s 1967 “Melon Season,” a life-size collage painting that integrates classic ancient motifs with African ones. Its compelling graphic qualities render it a popular image among visitors to the museum.

Like most of the artists to whom Neuberger lent his support, Ben Shahn was amazingly multitalented. His 1945 image, “The Blind Accordion Player,” has long been assumed to be Shahn’s interpretation of a famous black and white photograph depicting the grief of a black accordion player on the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. Life magazine photographer Ed Clark captured the original image of Navy Bandsman Gordon Jackson playing FDR’s favorite tune, “Goin’ Home,” as the president’s funeral train left Georgia. The tempera on board image conveys a far more wide-ranging mood through its compelling color and composition.

The museum remains a highly regarded repository of Twentieth Century American art, guided by the founder’s own philosophy. “I was attracted to the adventure of finding new artists on our own soil,” says Neuberger. Those new artists, such as Avery, Bearden, Hopper, Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning and Calder, have become old favorites, thanks to their patron, the far-sighted Roy R. Neuberger.

Today, Neuberger’s museum houses well over 5,000 works of art in the permanent collection. Some originally owned by Neuberger, others supplemented through his donations with funds for acquisitions. Most recently he marked the museum’s 30th year with a gift of 24 pieces, including 10 paintings by Eilshemius, bringing the museum total of his works to 112.

Does he ever regret giving away any paintings? Yes, Neuberger emphatically stated that he wishes he had retained “Going Home from the War,” a 14-piece series by Harlem Renaissance painter Jacob Lawrence that he donated to the Whitney before the genesis of his own museum. He also donated an Arthur Dove that he wishes he had in his own museum. Neuberger was an energetic supporter of the Whitney

As Neuberger describes his years of collecting, “I was attracted to the adventure of finding the new artists on our own soil.” This philosophy drove his own collection down a unique avenue, and today it is the driving force behind his own museum.

The Neuberger Museum of Art serves as a regional center for the arts and mounts some of the most impressive exhibits in the area. The Neuberger is located on the campus of the State University of New York at 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. For information, 914-251-6100 or www.neuberger.org.