Philanthropist Paul Mellon’s Many Bequests to Charities Include Artworks, $280-Million

The philanthropist Paul Mellon, who died this month at age 91, has left more than $280-million in cash to dozens of non-profit institutions nationwide.

He also bequeathed numerous works of art by impressionist and modern masters to a select few organizations. Although no official estimates have been made of the value of the donated art, its worth could equal or even eclipse the amount of Mr. Mellon’s cash bequests.

In his will, which was filed February 10 in probate court in Fauquier County, Va., Mr. Mellon bequeathed $75-million and a trove of artworks to each of two institutions: the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, and Yale University, in New Haven, Conn., for the Yale Center of British Art. He also left $10-million and 51 works of art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in Richmond.

All artworks will remain in the possession of Mr. Mellon’s wife, Rachel (Bunny) Lambert Mellon, until her death.

Mr. Mellon bequeathed smaller gifts to approximately 50 other organizations.

In addition to his charitable gifts, Mr. Mellon left $110-million to his widow, and provided cash bonuses to associates to whom he paid a monthly pension. The value of all cash bequests in the will totals roughly $450-million. Forbes magazine last year estimated Mr. Mellon’s worth at $1.4-billion.

Mr. Mellon died on February 1 at his home in Upperville, Va., nestled some 40 miles west of Washington. His father — the industrialist, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, and former Ambassador to Great Britain Andrew W. Mellon — left his son an immense fortune.

Andrew Mellon built the National Gallery of Art in 1941 as a gift to the nation. Paul Mellon became its primary benefactor.

In 1978, he paid $100-million to construct the museum’s East Wing. And he and his wife donated some 900 works of art to the gallery since 1964, among them paintings by Picasso and Renoir.

In his bequest, Mr. Mellon left more than 100 drawings and paintings by French and American artists to the National Gallery. Those include 13 works by Georges Seurat, 10 by Pierre Bonnard, three by Manet, two by van Gogh, and other works from such artists as Cezanne and Winslow Homer.

The National Gallery knew it was in line for a bequest, but “the gift of money was a lot more than we expected,” said Deborah Ziska, a spokeswoman at the museum. She noted that Mr. Mellon had asked that the cash be used to acquire new works, enhance educational programs, and support the Center for Advancement in the Visual Arts. He also asked that some of the money be put into the gallery’s endowment.

Such attention to detail was not surprising, Ms. Ziska said.

“There were three words we heard a lot [that described him],” she said. “Generous, thoughtful, and meticulous.”

Yale, Mr. Mellon’s alma mater, will receive 155 artworks for the British Center — along with the $75-million — with the stipulation that the university neither charge admission nor solicit donations to view the collection. Mr. Mellon established the center in 1977. It is believed to house the most impressive collection of British art outside of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Mellon left $10-million to his other alma mater, the Choate Rosemary Hall preparatory school, in Wallingford, Conn., for its endowment.

He made numerous other gifts in the will. Among them:

* $20-million to Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, for unrestricted use.

* $8-million to Cambridge University, in England, for its Fitzwilliam Museum.

* Up to $5-million to the Baltimore-Washington Institute for Psychoanalysis, in Laurel, Md., for unrestricted use.

* $5-million to Clare College, at Cambridge University, for its endowment and general operations, and an additional $2-million for Clare Hall.

* $5-million to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in Washington, for its endowment and to restore Montpelier, the Virginia home of President James Madison.

* $5-million to the Royal Academy of Arts, in London, for its endowment.

* $5-million to St. John’s College, in Annapolis, Md., for its endowment.

* $5-million to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, in Charlottesville, Va., for its endowment.

* $5-million to the Virginia Historical Society, in Richmond, for unrestricted use.

* $5-million to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

* $5-million to Yale University to develop its arts complex, $5-million for the Yale University Art Gallery, and $5-million to endow fellowships at the university.

* Up to $2.5-million to the Apprentice School Charitable Trust of the British Racing School, in Newmarket, England, for unrestricted use.

Mr. Mellon said in his will that several organizations should receive between $1.5-million and $2.5-million. The exact amount for those organizations is to be determined by the will’s executors.

Those organizations include the American Academy in Rome; the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia; the Carnegie Institute, in Pittsburgh; the Frick Collection, in New York; the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, in Lexington, Ky.; the National Museum of Racing, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; the Royal Veterinary College, in London; the U.S. Cavalry Museum, in Fort Riley, Kan.; the University of Kentucky, in Lexington; and the Washington National Cathedral.

Gifts of $1-million have been earmarked for Chatham College, in Pittsburgh; the National Sporting Library, in Middleburg, Va.; Trinity Church, in Upperville, Va., which Mr. Mellon financed and then donated to the town; the World Monuments Fund, in New York; the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, to establish a professorship in the Department of Urology; and up to $1-million to Virginia Tech’s Equine Medical Center.

Mr. Mellon left bequests of less than $1-million each to 20 organizations.

Marina Dundjerski contributed to this article.