Robert Hudson Tannahill

Robert Hudson Tannahill (April 1, 1893 – September 25, 1969)[1] was a Detroit art collector and benefactor.

One time home of Robert Hudson Tannahill in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

Early life

Tannahill was a nephew of department store magnate Joseph Lowthian Hudson and a cousin of Eleanor Clay Ford, wife of Henry Ford's only son Edsel.[2] He was the only son of Robert Blyth Tannahill and Anna Elizabeth Hudson. His father, Robert Blyth Tannahill (born in Detroit in 1863) in 1889 joined J. L. Hudson in the retail trade; married Anna Elizabeth Hudson who was one of three sisters of J. L. Hudson; by 1900, served as vice-president of the successful J. L. Hudson Department Store. Robert Hudson Tannahill was born and grew-up in the William Van Moore/Robert Blyth Tannahill Home located in 67 Peterboro in the Peterboro-Charlotte Historic District in Midtown Detroit, built in 1882.

Art Collector

Tannahill donated 475 works of art donated during his lifetime plus cash totaling $550,000 to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The museum received 557 additional works bequeathed upon his death that were valued at approximately $13,000,000.[3] His total gifts constitute a major portion of the permanent collection of the DIA.[4] One of the paintings that Tannahill bequeathed to the DIA, The Diggers by Vincent Van Gogh, was the object of a restitution claim from the heirs of Martha Nathan, who had owned the painting before fleeing Nazi Germany. The DIA hired provenance researchers to conduct an 18 month study into the history of the painting, which Tannahill had acquired in 1941, and when they concluded that the Van Gogh had not been looted by Nazis, the DIA's legal team filed a "quiet title" lawsuit against the heirs.[5] The museum successfully invoked a statute of limitations and retained custody of the painting.[6][7][8]

Tannahill served as a member of the City of Detroit Arts Commission from 1930 to 1962 and was instrumental in establishing the Detroit Artists Market. His collection focused on 19th- and 20th-century artists including Paul Cézanne, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Juan Gris, Paul Klee, John Marin, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Rouault and Georges Seurat.[9] His collection also included a significant number of African sculptures.[2]

References
  1. "Art Treasures Left to Detroit Museum". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1 October 1969. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  2. "Art: One Man's Fancy". Time. 28 November 1969. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  3. Kohn, Douglas (August 1980). "Robert Hudson Tannahill Papers" (PDF). Detroit Area Library Network. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  4. "Robert H. Tannahill Society". Detroit Institute of Arts. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  5. Begin, Sherri (January 25, 2006). "DIA goes to court to protect ownership of Van Gogh painting; study says painting wasn't seized by Nazis". Crains Detroit Business. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-01-05 – via Lootedart.com.
  6. Martinez, Alanna (2015-07-02). "Museums Respond to Biting Report on Nazi-Looted Art". Observer. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. "Detroit museum wins rights to work". The Columbus Dispatch. Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  8. "Judge denies bid for Van Gogh". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  9. "Tannahill, Robert Hudson". The Frick Collection. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
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