Roy Neuberger

Roy Neuberger
Roy Neuberger (center, seated) receiving the National Medal of Arts from George W. Bush Nov. 15, 2007.
Born	Roy Rothschild Neuberger (1903-07-21)July 21, 1903 Bridgeport, Connecticut
Died	December 24, 2010(2010-12-24) (aged 107) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Financier and art patron

Roy Rothschild Neuberger (July 21, 1903 – December 24, 2010) was an American financier who contributed money to raise public awareness of modern art through his acquisition of pieces he deemed worthy. He was a co-founder of the investment firm Neuberger Berman.

Roy Rothschild Neuberger (unrelated to the famous Rothschild family) was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and spent his childhood in New York. Born into a wealthy Jewish family, he was orphaned at the age of 12 after the deaths of his father Louis Neuberger, an immigrant from Germany and his mother, Bertha Rothschild, who was originally from Chicago. Neuberger described himself as having been interested during high school in tennis and "the ladies." He matriculated at New York University, originally to study journalism, but grew restless and dropped out without obtaining a degree.

His first job was working in the Manhattan department store B. Altman and Company. Among the things he practiced selling were paintings, which nurtured his love of art. He sailed to Europe at age 20 on an inheritance from his parents, and went to live in Paris. He enjoyed a bohemian lifestyle there, visiting the Louvre three times a week, where he met his lifelong friend, 20th-century art historian Meyer Schapiro.

Neuberger painted and studied art until 1928, when he read Floret Fels' biography of Vincent van Gogh. He was startled when he learned how Van Gogh had only sold one painting, and was heartstricken to learn that Van Gogh, like so many other artists, lived in pain, poverty and misery.