Adele Lewisohn Lehman was an American philanthropist, art collector, and painter.
Background
Adele Lewisohn Lehman was born in New York City, the daughter of Adolph Lewisohn, financier, philanthropist, and art collector, and of Emma M. Cahn. Adolph Lewisohn had come to the United States in 1867 from Hamburg, Germany, as the representative of his father's business, which dealt in wool, bristles, horsehair, and ornamental feathers. In 1879 he branched out into the metal industry; with two of his brothers he bought a copper mine in Butte, Montana. By 1899 he and others had formed a smelting trust, the American Smelting and Refining Company.
Education
Adele Lewisohn was sent to Anne Brown School, and for one year (1900) attended Barnard College. (In 1957 she gave $1 million to the college).
Career
Living in an age and coming from a background where philanthropy was regarded as a duty, Lehman readily accepted the obligations expected of one of her social position. For many years she held the office of "honorary" vice-president of the women's division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, furthering its program and activities through raising funds and arranging elaborate functions. In addition Lehman was a member of the board of directors of the New York Service for Orthopedically Handicapped. The service ran Oakhurst, a summer camp. It also maintained a sheltered workshop for crippled girls where they were taught manual skills, and a pilot program for children of nursery school age who were afflicted by cerebral palsy. A free school was maintained in order to demonstrate that children with cerebral palsy were educable.
Lehman had a pronounced interest in art in all its forms. An ardent collector, she started with pre-fourteenth-century Italian primitives and went on to acquire contemporary masters. The Lehmans were aided in their collecting by family friend Paul J. Sachs of the Fogg Museum, but they were also influenced by dealers and other connoisseurs. Many of their acquisitions later became part of museum collections, principally those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which received twenty-four works of art consisting of tapestries, paintings, and sculptures, and the Fogg Museum, which received seven. The National Gallery received a portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Jean Baptiste Greuze. The bequests to the Metropolitan consisted of nine tapestries, two della Robbia reliefs, and thirteen paintings, which included two large works by Francesco Guardi.
Later Lehman shifted her interests from predominantly cultural concerns. As a young woman she had actively participated in the woman suffrage movement. She became interested in the League of Women Voters, serving as vice-president in 1945. She also was elected to the board of directors of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York two years later. In 1954 Lehman turned her thoughts to a project that would perpetuate the memory of her husband. The result was the Arthur Lehman Counselling Service for people who were in need of psychiatric help, but did not want charity. For modest fees therapy was administered by professional personnel to people beset by personal, marital, or family troubles. Although her formative years had come in the nineteenth century, Lehman combined the characteristics of the nineteenth-century woman and the twentieth-century woman who was stirred by the currents of her time. She was an accomplished horsewoman and an excellent tennis player. She is said to have won thirty-eight cups. After a heart attack in 1947, Lehman's interest centered on creative work, and henceforth she immersed herself in painting still lifes, floral pieces, and landscapes. She died at Purchase, New York.
Achievements
Lehman was a prominent philanthropist. She was not only a substantial donor and fund-raiser for a number of organizations and causes, but was also an administrator; she served as an officer or board member for many agencies. Lehman was primarily recognized as honorary chairperson for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. In 1957, the Adele Lehman Hall at Barnard College was named in her honor.
Interests
Horse-riding
Sport & Clubs
Tennis
Connections
On November 25, 1901, Adele married Arthur Lehman, an investment banker and brother of Herbert Lehman, the future governor of, and U. S. senator from, New York State. They had three daughters. Her husband was one of the founders of the Federation for Jewish Philanthropies and its second president. He died in 1936.
