Cosmetics executive donates $1bn to New York Museum

Leonard Lauder, the heir to the Estee Lauder fortune, has pledged 78 works to a New York museum.

09:40 11 April 2013

Cosmetics executive Leonard Lauder, the heir to the Estee Lauder, can now be considered as one of most generous philanthropists of all time after donating $1billion worth of masterpieces to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Arts. The works include pieces from Pablo Picasso, George Braque, Juan Gris, and Fernand Leger.

The 80-year-old philanthropist has amassed all the works, which is thought to be 13per cent of his net worth, for over 37 years. The collection tells the story of a movement that revolutionized modern art and paved the way for abstraction.

In a statement, which is quoted by the BBC, Lauder said that his gift was for “the people who live and work in New York and those from around the world who come to visit out great arts institutions.” Lauder’s donation would put the museum at the forefront of the world collections.

Museum director Thomas Campbell said the gift was "truly transformational.” He added: “We have long lacked this critical dimension in the story of modernism. Now, Cubism will be represented with some of its greatest masterpieces.”