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Roy Neuberger

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Philanthropist

The Resume

    (July 21, 1903-December 24, 2010)
    Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut
    Stock trader and art patron
    Co-founded the investment firm Neuberger Berman (1939)
    Collected works by 20th century artists, including Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Milton Avery
    Received the National Medal of the Arts (2007)

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of NYU and pursued a bohemian existence in Paris, living off a trust fund.
    He went to work 'in earnest' after he decided to become an art collector and concluded he would need a lot more money to do it.
    He described himself as a 'square' for turning down a chance to buy a Picasso sculpture for $1,500 because he was only collecting American art at the time.
    His friend, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, spent state funds to build a Neuberger Museum of Art at the Puchase College campus of the State University of New York.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was married to Marie Salant for 65 years until her death.
    He became a patron of contemporary artists after reading how Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting during his life.
    In addition to donating 500 paintings and $1.3 million to the Neuberger Museum, he gave other paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and various university museums.
    He rejected several lucrative offers to purchase his collection, saying 'I have not collected art as an investor would. I collect art because I love it.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 66.67% Annoying