Edwin Manton
Encyclopedia
Sir Edwin Alfred Grenville Manton (January 22, 1909 - October 1, 2005) was a driving force in the creation of the American International Group
(AIG), a collector of paintings by John Constable
and his contemporaries, and a generous benefactor to the arts, the church and medicine.
Knighted in 1994 for charitable services to the Tate Gallery he was, after Sir Henry Tate, the most generous benefactor in its history and continued to involve himself in the affairs of the gallery well into his 90s.
, Essex, 20 miles from Constable's birth place. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Westcliff-on-Sea
on the Thames estuary, a location that gave him a life-long affection for expanses of water and sky and which he much later recalled by acquiring paintings of the area by the English painter John Wonnacott
.
However, during the first world war the family moved to Shaftesbury
in Dorset. There he eventually enrolled at Shaftesbury Grammar School where he stayed on as a boarder, even after the family had moved to London.
, later the AIG, one of a number of companies established by Cornelius Vander Starr
.
Soon afterwards, he married an American, Florence Brewer, known to all as Gretchen and they later had a daughter Diana. In 1939, he returned to London and volunteered for service, but was rejected on medical grounds having suffered from Stokes-Adams disease.
He became vice president of AIG in 1938 and served as president from 1942 to 1969, chairman from 1969 to 1975 and finally as a senior advisor until his death. During his most influential years, the company grew to a force of more than 50,000 people and Manton became a leading figure in the American insurance business.
His shareholding in AIG made him very wealthy and he was ranked as the 83rd richest person in the United Kingdom according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2003.
among others.
During this period, Constable scholars began to distinguish more rigorously between the works of John Constable
, his son Lionel, and followers. In the early 1980s, Manton came to know Leslie Parris, deputy keeper of the British Collection at the Tate, who, together with Ian Fleming-Williams and Graham Reynolds
, were the leading authorities in the field. Manton discovered many of the works in his collection were what he called Constabiles, rather than works by the master, but Manton took this to be part of the learning process and became close friends with Parris in particular.
Manton never took up US citizenship, retaining his British nationality until his death. In 1997, he established the American Fund for the Tate Gallery with an endowment generated by a gift of AIG shares. In creating a fund that would respond to the Tate's wish to strengthen its American collection, he was giving expression both to his affection for his birthplace and to his enthusiasm for his adopted country.
By 2005, the fund was worth $30m, and made possible the acquisition of major works by Robert Motherwell
, Philip Guston
, Donald Judd
, David Smith
, Louise Bourgeois
, Ellsworth Kelly
, Bruce Nauman
and Cildo Meireles
. Manton deliberately established the fund in a form that would allow American citizens to make donations which would support the mission of the Tate and this has stimulated very significant gifts of works of art and more than $70m in donations.
In 1992 and 1997, Manton made further gifts totalling nearly £12m towards the centenary development and other projects at Tate Britain; he also made a promised bequest of a major Constable, The Glebe Farm. These magnificent gifts allowed the trustees to transform the presentation of British art at Millbank as Tate Britain
, in 2001. Taken together, Manton's benefactions, enhancing both the British and international collections, are by far the most generous gift in the history of the Tate.
Manton also was a longtime parishioner at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in New York City, and bequeathed the church money for a pipe organ. The 6,183-pipe, 95-stop Manton Memorial Organ was the first French-built pipe organ in New York City and was installed in 2011.
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
(AIG), a collector of paintings by John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
and his contemporaries, and a generous benefactor to the arts, the church and medicine.
Knighted in 1994 for charitable services to the Tate Gallery he was, after Sir Henry Tate, the most generous benefactor in its history and continued to involve himself in the affairs of the gallery well into his 90s.
Early life
Sir Edwin, known to his colleagues in America as Jimmy and to friends in England as Jim, was born in Earls ColneEarls Colne
Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703.-Manor of Earls Colne:...
, Essex, 20 miles from Constable's birth place. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea is a suburb of Southend-on-Sea, a seaside resort in the East of England and unitary authority in Essex. It is situated on the northern bank of the Thames Estuary and about 34 miles east of London.-Geography:...
on the Thames estuary, a location that gave him a life-long affection for expanses of water and sky and which he much later recalled by acquiring paintings of the area by the English painter John Wonnacott
John Wonnacott
John Wonnacott CBE is a British painter.Wonnacott trained at the Slade School of Fine Art during 1958–63.He then moved to Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and still lives there....
.
However, during the first world war the family moved to Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
in Dorset. There he eventually enrolled at Shaftesbury Grammar School where he stayed on as a boarder, even after the family had moved to London.
American International Group
In 1926, he declined a scholarship to Cambridge, instead following an uncle's introduction to the Paris agent of the Caledonian Insurance Company. In 1933, he was offered a post in New York. He joined as a casualty underwriter with the then small American International Underwriter GroupAmerican International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
, later the AIG, one of a number of companies established by Cornelius Vander Starr
Cornelius Vander Starr
Cornelius Van der Starr also known as Neil Starr or CV Starr was an American businessman and Office of Strategic Services operative who founded the American International Group insurance corporation and a major philanthropic foundation.-Early life:Starr was born in Fort Bragg, California with the...
.
Soon afterwards, he married an American, Florence Brewer, known to all as Gretchen and they later had a daughter Diana. In 1939, he returned to London and volunteered for service, but was rejected on medical grounds having suffered from Stokes-Adams disease.
He became vice president of AIG in 1938 and served as president from 1942 to 1969, chairman from 1969 to 1975 and finally as a senior advisor until his death. During his most influential years, the company grew to a force of more than 50,000 people and Manton became a leading figure in the American insurance business.
His shareholding in AIG made him very wealthy and he was ranked as the 83rd richest person in the United Kingdom according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2003.
Art Collecting
After the second world war, he began to collect British paintings. His particular enthusiasm was for Constable. During the 1960s and 1970s, he assembled one of the best collections in private hands, in spite of competition from Paul MellonPaul Mellon
Paul Mellon KBE was an American philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame...
among others.
During this period, Constable scholars began to distinguish more rigorously between the works of John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
, his son Lionel, and followers. In the early 1980s, Manton came to know Leslie Parris, deputy keeper of the British Collection at the Tate, who, together with Ian Fleming-Williams and Graham Reynolds
Graham Reynolds
Graham Reynolds Austin, Texas based, Composer-bandleader Graham Reynolds creates, performs, and records music for film, theater, dance, rock clubs and concert halls with collaborators ranging from Richard Linklater to DJ Spooky to the Austin Symphony Orchestra...
, were the leading authorities in the field. Manton discovered many of the works in his collection were what he called Constabiles, rather than works by the master, but Manton took this to be part of the learning process and became close friends with Parris in particular.
Philanthropy
His friendship with Parris resulted in the offer of a contribution to the Tate's 1987 appeal for funds to acquire Constable's The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, and shortly afterwards a gift of AIG shares, which established the American Fund for the Tate Gallery with an endowment of $6.5m in 1988.Manton never took up US citizenship, retaining his British nationality until his death. In 1997, he established the American Fund for the Tate Gallery with an endowment generated by a gift of AIG shares. In creating a fund that would respond to the Tate's wish to strengthen its American collection, he was giving expression both to his affection for his birthplace and to his enthusiasm for his adopted country.
By 2005, the fund was worth $30m, and made possible the acquisition of major works by Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, Philip Guston
Philip Guston
Philip Guston was a notable painter and printmaker in the New York School, which included many of the Abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning...
, Donald Judd
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
, David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
, Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois , was a renowned French-American artist and sculptor, best known for her contributions to both modern and contemporary art, and for her spider structures, titled Maman, which resulted in her being nicknamed the Spiderwoman...
, Ellsworth Kelly
Ellsworth Kelly
Ellsworth Kelly is an American painter and sculptor associated with Hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and the Minimalist school. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing the simplicity of form found similar to the work of John McLaughlin. Kelly often employs bright colors to...
, Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
and Cildo Meireles
Cildo Meireles
Cildo Meireles is a Brazilian conceptual artist, installation artist and sculptor. He is noted especially for his installations, many of which express resistance to political oppression in Brazil. These works, often large and dense, encourage the viewer's interaction.-Life:Cildo Meireles was born...
. Manton deliberately established the fund in a form that would allow American citizens to make donations which would support the mission of the Tate and this has stimulated very significant gifts of works of art and more than $70m in donations.
In 1992 and 1997, Manton made further gifts totalling nearly £12m towards the centenary development and other projects at Tate Britain; he also made a promised bequest of a major Constable, The Glebe Farm. These magnificent gifts allowed the trustees to transform the presentation of British art at Millbank as Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, in 2001. Taken together, Manton's benefactions, enhancing both the British and international collections, are by far the most generous gift in the history of the Tate.
Manton also was a longtime parishioner at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in New York City, and bequeathed the church money for a pipe organ. The 6,183-pipe, 95-stop Manton Memorial Organ was the first French-built pipe organ in New York City and was installed in 2011.