Samuel Courtauld (art collector)

By the early 20th century, the Courtauld family business had become a major international company, having successfully developed and marketed rayon, an artificial fibre and inexpensive silk substitute.

During the 1920s, he assembled an extensive collection including masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh (Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Peach Blossom in the Crau previously owned by Anna Boch[1]), Édouard Manet (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère), Paul Cézanne (Montagne Sainte-Victoire) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (La Loge).

His example was emulated by his younger brother Stephen, who converted the medieval ruins of Eltham Palace into an Art Deco mansion.

Samuel Courtauld was the real Maecenas of the trio, and when his wife died in 1931, he made over the house in Portman Square, together with the pictures, for the use of the new institute until such time as permanent accommodation could be found for them.

[3] Samuel's younger brother, Stephen Courtauld, was also an arts patron and is remembered for his work on restoring Eltham Palace.