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Cosmetics billionaire Ronald Lauder’s private museum has a vast collection of Austrian and German art.
Ronald S. Lauder and Met Museum CEO and Director Max Hollein (photo Thomas Loof, all images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
In an unexpected development, Ronald Lauder’s Neue Galerie, known for its extensive collection of Austrian and German art, will merge with the Metropolitan Museum of Art located nearby on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. This merger, which is a rare occurrence, is set to be finalized in 2028, as disclosed by The Met in a statement today, May 14.
Neue Galerie boasts a rich collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century artworks, prominently featuring Gustav Klimt’s renowned gold-leafed “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” (1907). The gallery is also home to works by artists like Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Beckmann, Gabriele Münter, and Josef Hoffmann.
Founded in November 2001 by Lauder and art dealer Serge Sabarsky, the museum was established to celebrate Austrian and German art. Lauder described the merger as a strategy to “strengthen the Neue Galerie’s legacy in perpetuity,” according to a press release.
This merger marks a significant event nearly 80 years after The Met incorporated the independent Museum of Costume Art, which led to the formation of its Costume Institute, famous for the annual Met Gala. Unlike the 1946 merger, where The Met took over the Costume Art Museum’s collection, the Neue Galerie will maintain its location and continue as a fully staffed entity, as confirmed by a Met spokesperson to Hyperallergic.
Lauder, a key figure in the Estée Lauder legacy, has played an influential role as a trustee at The Met, where he previously donated a Cubist art collection valued at over $1 billion in 2013 and contributed 91 arms and armor in 2020. Forbes estimates his net worth at $4.9 billion.
Recently, Lauder has faced criticism for financially supporting Donald Trump, his lifelong friend, and other Republican figures. In November 2024, pro-Palestinian activists urged the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where Lauder is honorary chair, to cut ties with him due to his support for the Israeli government, a stance he holds as president of the Zionist World Jewish Congress.
With the merger, Lauder and his daughter, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, have pledged to donate 13 paintings from their private collection to the new entity. This includes works like Gustav Klimt’s “Die Tänzerin (The Dancer)” (circa 1916–18) and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “Die Russische Tänzerin Mela (The Russian Dancer Mela)” (1911). Additionally, they plan to provide an undisclosed endowment to secure the institution’s future. Other museum trustees are also contributing to a “significant endowment” for the collection.
