Samuel Courtauld (7 May 1876 – 1 December 1947) was anEnglish industrialist who is best remembered as an art collector. He foundedThe Courtauld Institute of Art inLondon in 1932 and, after a series of gifts during the 1930s, bequeathed his collection to the institute on his death.

By the early 20th century, theCourtauld family business had become a major international company, having successfully developed and marketedrayon, an artificial fibre and inexpensivesilk substitute. Samuel Courtauld took charge of the firm from 1908 as director and as chairman from 1921 to 1946.

Courtauld was the son ofSydney Courtauld (1840–1899) and Sarah Lucy Sharpe (1844–1906), and the great-nephew of textile magnateSamuel Courtauld. He was educated atRugby School. After he finished school he visited Germany and France and studied textile technology to prepare to work in the family business. In 1901, he became director of one of the factories (in Halstead,Essex), then in 1908 the CEO of all plants of the company.

He became interested in art after seeing theHugh Lane collection on exhibition at theTate Gallery in 1917. However, his career as a collector started in 1922 following an exhibition ofFrench art at theBurlington Fine Arts Club. Courtauld was one of the first British collectors to display interest inFrenchImpressionist andPost-Impressionist paintings. During the 1920s, he assembled an extensive collection including masterpieces byVincent van Gogh (Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear andPeach Blossom in the Crau previously owned byAnna Boch^[1]),Édouard Manet (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère),Paul Cézanne (Montagne Sainte-Victoire) andPierre-Auguste Renoir (La Loge). The core elements of his collection were acquired between 1926 and 1930, though his passion dwindled somewhat following the death of his wife Elizabeth (known as Lil) in 1931. Samuel founded The Courtauld Institute of Art withViscount Lee of Fareham andSir Robert Witt in 1930.

Courtauld provided the bulk of the finances for the founding of The Courtauld Institute of Art. His wealth came from the textile business, but on both sides of his family there were connections with the arts and traditions of patronage going back several generations. Courtauld loved pictures and wrote poems about them. On the advice ofRoger Fry and others he bought French Impressionists and Cézannes and took out a lease on the bestRobert Adam house in London,Home House, 20Portman Square, in which to display them - a novel and stunning combination. His example was emulated by his younger brotherStephen, who converted the medieval ruins ofEltham Palace into anArt Deco mansion. Samuel Courtauld was the realMaecenas of the trio, and when his wife died in 1931, he made over the house in Portman Square, together with the pictures, for the use of the new institute until such time as permanent accommodation could be found for them. In the event the Portman Square house was to be the institute's home for almost sixty years.^[2]

Courtauld also created a £50,000 acquisition fund for theTate andNational Gallery in London, helping lay the foundations of national collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.

He declined a peerage in 1937.

Samuel Courtauld married Elizabeth Theresa Frances Kelsey on 20 June 1901. The children from this marriage included Sydney Elizabeth Courtauld (1902–1954), who married the politicianRab Butler and was the mother ofRichard C. Butler andAdam Butler.^[3]

Samuel's younger brother,Stephen Courtauld, was also an arts patron and is remembered for his work on restoringEltham Palace.Augustine Courtauld (1904–1959), Samuel's cousin, was anexplorer, noted for his pioneering observations of the climate of theice cap ofGreenland.^[4]

References

Sources

• Turner, Jane (1996).The Dictionary of Art. Grove. p. 62.ISBN 1-884446-00-0.

Further reading

• The Courtauld Collection. A catalogue and introduction by Douglas Cooper. With a memoir of Samuel Courtauld by Anthony Blunt. University of London: The Athlone Press. 1954.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
• Salmon, Dimitri (2019).Percy Moore Turner: précieux conseiller de Samuel & Elisabeth Courtauld. Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris).

• Newspaper clippings about Samuel Courtauld in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

• 1876 births
• 1947 deaths
• English art collectors
• English art patrons
• Impressionism
• People associated with the Courtauld Institute of Art
• English businesspeople
• British businesspeople in the textile industry
• Courtauld family
• People educated at Rugby School
• English people of French descent

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