Portrait of Herbert H. Lehman
This gift is a portrait of Herbert H. Lehman (1878 – 1963). He was a son of Jewish immigrants, was a founding partner to Lehman Brother Financial Services and later took to public life. His father taught him that he had a responsibility to help others and an obligation to do good works. He served as New York State Governor (1933 – 1942), with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, 1943 – 1946), and as a New York State Senator (1949 – 1957). When in 1943, the UNRRA Council unanimously elected Lehman as the first Director-General, he promised to do all he could to bring relief to the oppressed and starving people of Europe and Asia. UNRRA was one of the predecessors of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which was created in 1950. In 1963, USA President Kennedy awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Lehman for his lifetime of public service, posthumously. He was 85 when he died in 1963.
Artist Everett Kinstler (1926 – 2019) was well known in the 1940s and 1950s for his work in comic books. In the 1950s, he began his portraiture work which included over 1200 portraits of important leaders in business, entertainment and government, including 8 USA Presidents. For 70 years, he lived and worked at The National Arts club and painted many subjects there. In 2018, he was honored at the Club’s 120th anniversary celebration for his outstanding career and commitment to the arts. He was also honored with a Portraits, Inc. Lifetime Achievement Award for which an annual scholarship is awarded in his name.
United Nations Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, presented the portrait in a ceremony with the UNRRA Director-General’s widow and son, John Lehman, in attendance.
Please note that Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim‘s portrait within the United Nations art collection was also completed by Everett Kistler.