Samuel Putnam Avery

Samuel Putnam Avery (born March 17, 1822, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Aug. 11, 1904, New York City) was an artist, connoisseur, art dealer, and philanthropist best remembered for his patronage of arts and letters.

Beginning as an engraver on copper (he worked for the American Bank Note Company), Avery became a skilled wood engraver and illustrated numerous books. In 1864 he gave up his engraving practice and established himself as an art dealer. Three years later he was U.S. commissioner at the Universal Exposition in Paris. While abroad, with the assistance of art agent and collector George A. Lucas, Avery commissioned artworks from the most fashionable Parisian artists, including William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Jules Breton, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Ernest Meissonier. He also began annual collecting trips, later auctioning the works in New York City or selling them to collectors such as William Vanderbilt and A.T. Stewart.

In memory of his son, a distinguished architect, Putnam established the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University and, in memory of a daughter, the Teachers’ College Library, also at Columbia. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and he presented a collection of prints to the New York Public Library. A building commemorating both father and son, Avery Hall, was built at Columbia to house a valuable collection of works on architecture and decorative art.