Horace Kelley

He is considered to be one of the founders of the museum along with John Huntington, Hinman Hurlbut, and Jeptha Wade II.

[1] Kelley's father, a successful businessman, left a fortune mostly made up of real estate in Cleveland to Horace after his death in 1823.

[8] In Cleveland, he increased his wealth by investing in and managing real estate both in the city and off the shore of Lake Erie on the Isle of St. George (present-day North Bass Island).

[17][18] After Kelley's death, these trustees helped to establish a nonprofit corporation that incorporated the funds of his estate and was named the Cleveland Museum of Art, in 1899.

[20] The corporation faced legal difficulties due to the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, another corporation formed through the will of John Huntington, which had also independently provided funds for the purpose of establishing an art museum.

[20][22] This new corporation, under the combined resources of the Kelley and Huntington estates, commenced the construction of the museum in May 1913, and formally opened it to the public on June 6, 1916.

[21] Kelley is considered one of the founders of the Cleveland Museum of Art, along with John Huntington, Hinman Hurlbut, and Jeptha Wade II.