The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives - Please Post l2nd ^"f *nd ^'V^nT , New York 10028 (212) 879-5500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAURENCE A. TISCH AND BARON HANS HEINRICH THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA

ELECTED TRUSTEES OF METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

Douglas Dillon, Chairman of the Board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, has announced the recent election of two new trustees; Laurence A. Tisch, philanthropist, community leader and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Loews Corporation, and Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, international industrialist and art collector.

Mr. Tisch was born in . He received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University, holds a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has attended the Harvard Law School. He has been identified with the hotel and real estate field for many years. Until 1960, when he was elected Chairman of the Board of Loews Theatres, Inc., he served as Chairman and Chief Executive of Tisch Hotels, Inc., a diversified hotel and real estate organization encompassing hotels in New York, New Jersey, and Florida.

He currently serves also as Chairman of the Board of Directors of CNA Financial Corporation and as a Director of its insurance sub­ sidiaries, and of the Bulova Watch Company, Inc., both subsidiaries of Loews Corporation. He is also a Director of the Automatic Data Processing Corporation.

Mr. Tisch serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of New York University. He is a past president of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Legal Aid Society and a trustee of the Federation of Jewish Phil­ anthropies and the Jewish Communal Fund.

(more) TWO NEW TRUSTEES ELECTED TO BOARD OF METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Mr. Dillon said: "We warmly welcome Mr. Tisch as a Trustee of our Museum because his enormous experience, knowledge and commitment to New York will be most helpful to the Metropolitan in facing the problems that lie ahead."

Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza was born in Holland. His paternal grandfather was , one of 's great industrialists, who founded the family steel, mining, manufacturing, and banking concerns.

In the late 1920's, Baron Thyssen's father, also named Hans Heinrich, went to live at the Villa Favorita in Castagnola, a small village on Lake in Switzerland. He had long been a serious collector and over the years the collection continued to grow in size and distinction. In 1937, a capacious, modern addition to the Villa Favorita was built specifically to house the collection, eventually incorporating a sophisticated system of light and security controls, a reference library of fine arts books, as well as conservation facilities.

Baron Thyssen attended the Universities of Berne and Fribourg. On the death of his father in 1947, he assumed the task of managing the post-war reorganization of the family industries and in 1950 became a Swiss citizen.

Since 1950, the collection, under the Baron's guidance, has grown remarkably, not only in the field of Old Master paintings, but also in those of Impressionist and modern paintings, silver, furniture and carpets. Objects from the collection have frequently been lent to prestigious exhibitions in , America, and the Far East. In 1981, a selection from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection of Old Master paintings was shown at the Metropolitan Museum, and an exhibition of his Twentieth-Century Masters is currently on view at the Metropolitan.

The Baron is very active in business and industry in Europe and in the United States, where he is Chairman of Thyssen-Bornemisza. •

(more) TWO NEW TRUSTEES ELECTED TO BOARD OF METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART -3-

"We are pleased that Baron Thyssen, as one of the very greatest collectors of art in the world, is joining our Board. His dedication not only to collecting but to exhibiting his treasures in many areas of the world—including our Museum—makes him a significant and constructive force in the international art world," said Mr. Dillon.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION please contact John Ross or Berenice Heller, Public Information Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tel: (212) 879-5500 October, 1983