Sir Arthur Gilbert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abraham Bernstein May 16, 1913 London, England |
| Died | September 2, 2001(2001-09-02) (aged 88) |
| Occupations | Real estate developer, art collector, philanthropist |
| Known for | Gilbert Collection |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 1 |
Sir Arthur Gilbert (bornAbraham Bernstein; May 16, 1913 – September 2, 2001) was a British-born American real estate developer, art collector and philanthropist.
Arthur Gilbert was born as Abraham Bernstein on May 16, 1913, inHackney, London.[1][2] He grew up inGolders Green, London.[3][4]
His father was Lazarus Bernstein, a furrier, and his mother was named Bella.[2] His parents were Jewish Polish immigrants who had moved to London in 1897,[1][4] and they also owned land and built a house inRishon LeZion.[3] He and his parents attended the dedication ceremony of theHebrew University inJerusalem in 1925.[3]
He was educated at boarding school from the age of four.[2]
Gilbert was a successful businessman in England, selling gowns designed by Rosalinde, his first wife.[2][3] He immigrated to the United States to obviate taxes in 1949.[2] Once in theLos Angeles area, he became a real estate developer.[4] He developed industrial sites under the name of the Gilbert Financial Corporation.[4]
Gilbert served on the board of trustees of theLos Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).[5] He loaned a large collection of objets d'art to the Museum from the 1970s to the mid-1990s.[2][5][6] He discontinued the agreement due to limited space at the LACMA.[2]
In 1996, Gilbert took back the collection of "gold, silver, mosaics, gold boxes and enamel portrait miniatures", worth about US $300 million, and donated it to the British nation.[2][7]Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, the Chairman of theHeritage Lottery Fund, agreed to build a US$30 million gallery insideSomerset House to display the collection and attract visitors.[2] The new gallery was dedicated byQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2001.[2] TheGilbert Collection stayed there from 2001 to 2008.[7] It can now be viewed at theVictoria & Albert Museum.[7][8] In 2018, the V&A embarked on a research project into the provenance of the Gilbert Collection, culminating in the 'Concealed Histories. Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting' exhibition.[9]
Additionally, Gilbert supported Jewish charitable causes in Europe and Israel. He made charitable contributions to theFebruary 1941 Foundation, a non-profit organization which honors Dutch people who helped Jews escape from Nazi barbarism during World War II.[2] In Israel, he was the founder of the Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert Center for the Advancement of Scientific Research and made donations to erect buildings on the campus of theHebrew University in Jerusalem.[2] He also made charitable contributions to the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.[3]
He was knighted byQueen Elizabeth II in 1999.[4][10]
He married Rosalinde Gilbert, a dress designer, in 1934, and took her surname.[2] They had a son, Colin.[2] After Rosalinde died in 1995, he married Marjorie Haworth in 1997.[4] They resided inBeverly Hills, California.[5] He became a naturalised American citizen.[10]
Gilbert died of a heart attack on September 2, 2001, at his private residence in Beverly Hills, California.[5] He was eighty-eight years old.[4]
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation is an active philanthropic organization.[11] For example, it donated US$6 million to theYounes and Soraya Israel Studies Center at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2006.[12]
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