Fresh off of a Bros of Decay-produced documentary which debuted on Sunday, the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation is in the headlines again.
Stephen A. Schwarzman, a 1965 graduate of Abington Senior High School and a billionaire businessman, purchased a John Singer Sargent portrait which once belonged to the late Peter A.B. Widener, a Philadelphia businessman, art collector, and former owner of Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.
According to the article, the portrait was created in 1903 and has laid dormant for decades in Philadelphia Museum of Art storage.
Schwarzman, after making his purchase for an undisclosed amount, made a multi-million-dollar donation to the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation (LHPF) during a fundraiser event at the Explorers Club in New York City. The fundraiser was organized by LHPF co-founder Marc Rosen.
“The premise of the event was Lynnewood’s first foray in a large scale with people who are all potential donors to the project,” Edward Thome, LHPF’s CEO, told Glenside Local. “It’s the first time the painting has been made public in 80 years.”
Thome tips his hat to Rosen for making the black tie event a reality.
“He made it possible for us to have the venue and be able to network an official fundraiser in New York City,” Thome said. “It’s a two-sided philanthropy deal. The family is monetarily involved and invested in this project.”
“We were able to secure a donation earlier this summer, and that enabled us to put this fundraiser together,” Angie Van Scyoc, LHPF’s Chief Director, told Glenside Local. “The Wideners were very gracious to lend us a family asset. A substantial portion of the proceeds came directly from Mr. Schwarzman to LHPF.”
Schwarzman, now 77 and currently the 34th richest person in the world, has an estimated net worth of $38 billion, according to Forbes. He now lives in Miramar, a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, which was designed for and built by George Dunton Widener, Peter A.B. Widener’s son. George and his son, Harry, died aboard the Titanic before he was able to relocate to the property.
“I’m very pleased that our fundraiser was able to show the humanity of this project, and elevate it in a growing context,” Peter Oyloe, LHPF’s Vice Chair, told Glenside Local. “We’ve now officially launched as a global reach project, and we couldn’t be prouder.”
“Lynnewood is one of those places that just consumes you,” Peter R. Widener, Peter A.B. Widener’s great-great-great-grandson and chairman of LHPF’s board, told the Inquirer. “It takes days just to see. I’d love to see the surrounding area benefit. I’d love to see Michelin chefs trained there. Maybe a charter school.”
“I couldn’t be prouder to have this picture,” Schwarzman told the Inquirer. “It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal to me.”
Moving forward, you can expect a fall announcement on behalf of LHPF regarding plans for a 125th grand opening event in December.
Public tours of the estate are also forthcoming, though not until all of the property’s safety risks have been remediated.
“We’re continuing our stabilization of the property. This winter will be a continuation of that, and our main goal, which is fundraising,” Thome said. “We’re hoping to have part of the grounds open to the public. There are a number of hoops we have to jump through in order to make that happen. We have loose plastic, broken glass, open manholes, all of which we have to do deal with before we can go public.”
To donate to the project, you can click here.
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Photos: LHPF