A misdirected solicitation turned into a windfall for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1881, a letter from the Met went to the wrong Manhattan address and ended up in the hands of sugar magnate and art collector Henry Osborne Havemeyer. He sent the 11-year-old museum a $1,000 check, kindling a long-term commitment that included a transformative 1929 bequest by his widow, Louisine W. Havemeyer. Masterpieces from the couple’s trove, including paintings by Degas, El Greco, Manet and Cézanne and works of Asian art, are a highlight...

Source: Wall Street Journal August 14, 2020 18:00 UTC