Jonathan Sturges (1802-1874)
Merchant, Art Collector, etc., of 40 East 36th Street, New York & Fairfield, Connecticut
He was born in Southport, Connecticut, and with nothing more than a basic education came to New York City in 1821 as a clerk in Luman Reed's grocery business. He was made in partner in 1828 and after the death of Reed in 1836 he continued as the firm's senior partner. Reed was not only an influence on his business career, but he also shaped what is perhaps Sturges' most enduring legacy as a patron of the arts. In 1844, Sturges, together with Reed's son-in-law, Theodore Allen, clubbed together to purchase Lumen Reed's collection of Flemish, Dutch, German, Italian and American art which had been housed on the third floor of 13 Greenwich Street. For the purpose of expanding the collection, Sturges and Allen established the New-York Gallery of Fine Arts which eventually became part of the New-York Historical Society.
Sturges was twice voted Vice-President of the New York Chamber of Commerce and in 1868 he sold his wholesale grocery business which allowed him to focus on and invest in other areas. He became a major shareholder in the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, but most significantly he co-founded both the National Bank of Commerce in New York and the Illinois Central Railroad, serving as a director of both. In 1863, Sturges helped found the Union League Club of New York - serving as the club's second president - and he was a co-founder of the Century Association (the Century Club).
Since at least the 1830s, Sturges had been a well-known patron of the arts who both collected and commissioned numerous paintings, notably Kindred Spirits (see images), a gift from him to William Cullen Bryant, and in itself a tribute to the poet Thomas Cole by its artist Asher Brown Durand. Other artists who benefited from his patronage included Frederic Edwin Church, Henry Inman, William Sidney Mount, John Gadsby Chapman, Henry Kirke Brown, Henry Peters Gray, Charles C. Ingham, and Robert W. Weir. Examples of their work were displayed at both his townhouse, 40 East 36th Street (see images) and the country home he commissioned in Fairfield, Connecticut, now known as the Jonathan Sturges House. In Tuckerman's 1867 Book of the Artists, Sturges' art collection was included as one of the ten most significant private art collections in New York City.
In 1828, he married Mary Pemberton Cady whose father was a nephew of Ebenezer Pemberton, 2nd Principal of Phillips Academy Andover. Her memoirs Reminiscences of a Long Life were published in 1894. They were the parents of five children (listed), notably Mimi, first wife of the banker - and another serious art collector - J.P. Morgan.
Sturges was twice voted Vice-President of the New York Chamber of Commerce and in 1868 he sold his wholesale grocery business which allowed him to focus on and invest in other areas. He became a major shareholder in the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, but most significantly he co-founded both the National Bank of Commerce in New York and the Illinois Central Railroad, serving as a director of both. In 1863, Sturges helped found the Union League Club of New York - serving as the club's second president - and he was a co-founder of the Century Association (the Century Club).
Since at least the 1830s, Sturges had been a well-known patron of the arts who both collected and commissioned numerous paintings, notably Kindred Spirits (see images), a gift from him to William Cullen Bryant, and in itself a tribute to the poet Thomas Cole by its artist Asher Brown Durand. Other artists who benefited from his patronage included Frederic Edwin Church, Henry Inman, William Sidney Mount, John Gadsby Chapman, Henry Kirke Brown, Henry Peters Gray, Charles C. Ingham, and Robert W. Weir. Examples of their work were displayed at both his townhouse, 40 East 36th Street (see images) and the country home he commissioned in Fairfield, Connecticut, now known as the Jonathan Sturges House. In Tuckerman's 1867 Book of the Artists, Sturges' art collection was included as one of the ten most significant private art collections in New York City.
In 1828, he married Mary Pemberton Cady whose father was a nephew of Ebenezer Pemberton, 2nd Principal of Phillips Academy Andover. Her memoirs Reminiscences of a Long Life were published in 1894. They were the parents of five children (listed), notably Mimi, first wife of the banker - and another serious art collector - J.P. Morgan.
