AKU-2001-006

After Gilbert Stuart (attributed), American, 1755–1828

Portrait of John Jacob Astor (After the Fur Trade)

1825

Oil on canvas

90 × 72 cm

Acquisition

Purchased, 2001

Curator’s Note

John Jacob Astor arrived in the United States from Waldorf, Germany in 1784 with seven flutes and $25. He built the American Fur Company into a monopoly controlling virtually all trade with Native American nations across the Pacific Northwest. He then converted his capital into Manhattan real estate, refusing to sell anything, only ever leasing. By his death in 1848 he was worth $20 million — the equivalent of approximately 1% of total US GDP. He was the wealthiest person in the country by a considerable margin. He left $400,000 to found the Astor Library, which later merged to become the New York Public Library. His great-great-grandson John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic.

Exhibition

gilded-age-digital-age