A. Conger Goodyear

A. Conger Goodyear was an American businessman, pioneering modern art collector, and the first president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. A scion of a prominent Buffalo, New York family, he leveraged his success in the lumber and railroad industries to become a major patron of avant-garde art in the early 20th century. Goodyear played a decisive role in assembling the founding board and securing the initial collection for MoMA, steering the institution through its formative and often controversial early years. His legacy is that of a pivotal bridge between American industrial wealth and the institutionalization of modern art.

Early life and education

Arthur Conger Goodyear was born on April 20, 1877, into a wealthy and established family in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of Charles W. Goodyear, a successful businessman and brother to the more famous Charles Goodyear, a former Mayor of Buffalo. He received his early education at the Nichols School in Buffalo before attending Yale University, where he graduated in 1899. At Yale, he was a member of the prestigious Skull and Bones society, connections that would later prove valuable in his philanthropic and institutional endeavors. Following his graduation, he briefly studied law but soon turned his attention to the family's business interests.

Business career

Goodyear's primary business career was rooted in the natural resources and transportation sectors of the Northeastern United States. He served as president of the Great Southern Lumber Company, which operated vast timber holdings and a major mill in Bogalusa, Louisiana. His interests also extended to railroads, where he held directorships in several lines, including the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway. This business acumen provided him with the substantial financial resources necessary to pursue his passion for collecting art. His leadership in these industries was characterized by a modernizing approach, a trait that paralleled his forward-looking taste in the arts.

Art collecting and patronage

Following his service as an officer in the United States Army during World War I, Goodyear began collecting art in earnest, quickly developing a discerning eye for contemporary movements. He amassed a significant collection focused on Post-Impressionist and modern masters, acquiring works by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso at a time when such art was still met with skepticism by traditional American institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His patronage extended beyond collecting; he served as president of the Albright Art Gallery (later the Albright-Knox Art Gallery) in Buffalo from 1925 to 1929, where he championed the acquisition of modern works, leading to his ouster by more conservative trustees.

Role in founding the Museum of Modern Art

Goodyear's removal from the Albright board directly catalyzed his most famous achievement. In 1929, he was recruited by philanthropists Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan to become the first president of their new venture, the Museum of Modern Art. He played a critical executive role in its establishment, helping to secure key loans from collectors like Albert C. Barnes and organizing its influential early exhibitions. Goodyear presided over MoMA's controversial 1931 Matisse retrospective and the pivotal 1936 exhibition "Cubism and Abstract Art," curated by Alfred H. Barr Jr.. He served as president until 1939, guiding the museum from a temporary gallery to an international powerhouse.

Later life and legacy

After stepping down as president, Goodyear remained on MoMA's Board of Trustees and continued to collect art, with later interests in Surrealism and contemporary American painting. During World War II, he served as chairman of the USO Camp Shows. In his final years, he divided his time between New York City and Old Westbury, New York on Long Island. Upon his death on April 23, 1964, a significant portion of his personal collection was bequeathed to MoMA and other institutions, including the Yale University Art Gallery. A. Conger Goodyear is remembered as a crucial founding figure who provided the organizational leadership and financial credibility that allowed the Museum of Modern Art to flourish and permanently alter the American cultural landscape.

Category:American art collectors Category:Museum founders Category:1877 births Category:1964 deaths