Frederick Sturges (1833-1917)

He was born at Fairfield, Connecticut, growing up between the Sturges House and 40 East 36th Street in New York City. When he was sixteen, he began his business career in his father's office, working closely with him until his father sold the business in 1868. Afterwards, he served as a Director of the National Bank of Commerce in New York, the Atlantic Trust Company, the Seaman's Bank for Savings, and the Illinois Central Railroad of which his brother-in-law, William Henry Osborn, was president. The charities to which he devoted the most part of his time, expertise, and money were the Presbyterian Hospital (where he founded the Florence Nightingale School for Trained Nurses), the Hospital for the Ruptured & Crippled, the American Bible Society, and the Seamen's Fund Society. He was a trustee of the New York Public Library, a supporter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the Century and Grolier Clubs, the Downtown Association, and the American Geographical Society.

In 1863, he married Mary Reed Fuller, granddaughter of his father's mentor, Luman Reed. They had 4-children (listed) and lived between 36 Park Avenue and Fairfield. He inherited his father's passion for art and his collection included: The Bashful Cousin by Francis William Edmonds; Forest in the Morning Light and A Pastoral Scene, both by Asher Brown Durand; Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor and Beach at Beverly by John Frederick Kensett; and, View on Lake George by John William Casilear. In 1977, His son, Frederick Jr., bequeathed several of the Sturges family paintings to the National Gallery of Art.