[6] In 1870, he was one of the twenty-eight founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[7] serving as its treasurer for many years (and trustee from its inception until he moved to London in 1884),[8] In 1875, he donated Piero di Cosimo's A Hunting Scene c. 1494–1500, which is considered "one of the most singular works of the Renaissance,"[9] and Cosimo's The Return from the Hunt, c. 1494–1500.

[11] In 1898, he purchased Eastman Johnson's 1881 painting, The Funding Bill directly from the artist, which he also donated to the Museum.

The painting featured Robert W. Rutherford, a relative of the painter, and Samuel W. Rowse, an artist, discussing a bill in Congress about the refunding of the national debt.

[12] In 1912, he donated Sanford Robinson Gifford's Tivoli (produced on commission for Gordon in 1870) and Alexander Helwig Wyant's An Old Clearing to the Museum.

Together, they were the parents of six children:[13] After his retirement from J. S. Morgan & Co., he lived at his country place, Brockham Park in Betchworth, England,[2] which he purchased in 1901 for £24,000.

Besides his family, the painting depicts Gordon's dining room, decorated in the up-to-date Renaissance Revival style, at his home at 7 West 33rd Street.