Under Robert Lehman, the bank concentrated on rapidly developing consumer industries with financing deals arranged in retailing, airlines, and the entertainment business notably with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre group 1928 deal that sold the majority of its stock to Joseph P. Kennedy which led to the creation of RKO motion picture studios.
Post-war, he grew the company substantially, expanding to Paris, France, to meet the financial needs of his clients with international operations.
[3] The importance of his collection became such that in 1957, nearly three hundred works were used for a solo exhibition at the Louvre Museum's Musée de l'Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.
In 1968 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Yale University for having "enhanced the civic life, the culture, and the artistic development of our civilization."
[4] Housed in the Robert Lehman Wing, which opened to the public in 1975, the museum has called it "one of the most extraordinary private art collections ever assembled in the United States.
"[5] To this day, the foundation remains active, operating the Robert Lehman Art Lecture Fund and sponsoring exhibitions in museums, both around the U.S. and worldwide.
Previous to her marriage to Robert, Ruth Lamar had been married to John Williams "Jack" Rumsey (1877–1960), who was owner of the Embassy Club (a nightclub in New York City) and president of the American Play Company (an old established literary agency located at 532 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan).