| William T. Blodgett | |
| Birth Date: | February 18, 1824 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Burial Place: | Green-Wood Cemetery |
William Tilden Blodgett (February 18, 1824 – November 4, 1875) was a New York City art collector who was instrumental in founding the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He was active in the American Civil War and organized the NYC Union League Club and the Sanitary Fair to raise funds for the wounded. He founded the newspaper The Nation and was a leader in establishing the American Museum of Natural History. He was a founding member of the committee to form the Met in 1869 and was its first chairman. He had been on the selection committee for the American works to be presented at the French exhibition of 1867 and thus felt he knew enough to purchase pictures for the young museum while abroad in 1870.
He purchased a total of 174 pictures which he financed together with John Taylor Johnston and about half of this "1871 purchase" is still in the museum.[1]
These pictures are:
| image | title | creator | inception | inventory number | The Met url | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Meeting of Alexander the Great and Diogenes | Caspar de Crayer | 71.1 | MET | |||
| A Vase with Flowers | Jacob Vosmaer | 71.5 | MET | |||
| A Vase of Flowers | Margaretha Haverman | 1716 | 71.6 | MET | ||
| The Holy Family with Saint Anne and the Young Baptist and His Parents | Jacob Jordaens | 71.11 | MET | |||
| The Yard of the Inn at Emmaus | David Ryckaert | 71.12 | MET | |||
| Rustic Interior | David Ryckaert | 71.13 | MET | |||
| A Cat Stealing Fish | Giuseppe Recco | 71.17 | MET | |||
| Vanitas Still Life | Evert Collier | 1662 | 71.19 | MET | ||
| Battle Scene | Johannes Lingelbach | 1671 | 71.23 | MET | ||
| The Sacrifice of Isaac | Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo | 71.28 | MET | |||
| Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome | Giovanni Paolo Panini | 71.31 | MET | |||
| Group Portrait: A Wedding Celebration | Gillis van Tilborgh | 71.32 | MET | |||
| Saint Remigius Replenishing the Barrel of Wine; (interior) Saint Remigius and the Burning Wheat | Swiss Painter | 1500 | 71.33ab | MET | ||
| Portrait of a Woman | Bernhard Strigel | 71.34 | MET | |||
| Jacob Willemsz. van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father | Maarten van Heemskerck | 1532 | 71.36 | MET | ||
| Saint Agapitus of Praeneste in the Arena; (interior) The Beheading of Saint Agapitus of Praeneste | Swiss Painter | 1500 | 71.40ab | MET | ||
| Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague-stricken of Palermo | Anthony van Dyck | 1624 | 71.41 | MET | ||
| A Basket and Birds | Jan Fyt | 71.43 | MET | |||
| A Hare and Birds | Jan Fyt | 71.44 | MET | |||
| A Partridge and Small Game Birds | Jan Fyt | 71.45 | MET | |||
| Portrait of a Young Woman | Cornelis de Vos | 71.46 | MET | |||
| Interior of a Gothic Church at Night | Pieter Neeffs II | 71.50 | MET | |||
| Midas Washing at the Source of the Pactolus | Nicolas Poussin | 71.56 | MET | |||
| Ducks Resting in Sunshine | Jean-Baptiste Oudry | 1753 | 71.57 | MET | ||
| The Farrier | Aert van der Neer | 71.60 | MET | |||
| View of Haarlem and the Haarlemmer Meer | Jan van Goyen | 1646 | 71.62 | MET | ||
| Portrait of a Man | Abraham de Vries | 1643 | 71.63 | MET | ||
| Interior of a Kitchen | Willem Kalf | 71.69 | MET | |||
| Portrait of Johan Hulshout (1623–1687) | Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt | 1670 | 71.70 | MET | ||
| Portrait of a Man | Bartholomeus van der Helst | 1647 | 71.73 | MET | ||
| Drawing the Eel | Salomon van Ruysdael | 71.75 | MET | |||
| Malle Babbe | Style of Frans Hals | 1700s | 71.76 | MET | ||
| Still Life with a Glass and Oysters | Jan Davidsz. de Heem | 71.78 | MET | |||
| Beggars at a Doorway | Master of the Béguins | 1700s | 71.80 | MET | ||
| Man in Armor (Mars?) | Style of Rembrandt | 1700s | 71.84 | MET | ||
| Dog Guarding Dead Game | Jean-Baptiste Oudry | 1753 | 71.89 | MET | ||
| Study Head of a Woman | Jean-Baptiste Greuze | 71.91 | MET | |||
| The Forge | Léonard Defrance | 71.93 | MET | |||
| A Cavalry Engagement | Adam Frans van der Meulen | 71.96 | MET | |||
| Marine | Salomon van Ruysdael | 1650 | 71.98 | MET | ||
| Peasants Dancing and Feasting | David Teniers the Younger | 1660 | 71.99 | MET | ||
| The Adoration of the Magi | Copy after Hugo van der Goes | 1500s | 71.100 | MET | ||
| The Rope Dance | Léonard Defrance | 71.105 | MET | |||
| A Banquet | Dirck Hals | 1628 | 71.108 | MET | ||
| The Spinner | Quirijn van Brekelenkam | 1653 | 71.110 | MET | ||
| The Pigeon House | Roelof Jansz van Vries | 71.116 | MET | |||
| Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a Landscape | Abraham Brueghel | 71.118 | MET | |||
| The Grand Canal above the Rialto | Francesco Guardi | 71.119 | MET | |||
| Santa Maria della Salute | Francesco Guardi | 71.120 | MET | |||
| The Investiture of Bishop Harold as Duke of Franconia | Giovanni Battista Tiepolo | 71.121 | MET | |||
| Peasants Dancing | Johannes Lingelbach | 1651 | 71.123 | MET | ||
| Rest | Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem | 1644 | 71.125 | MET | ||
| Johann I (1468–1532), the Constant, Elector of Saxony | Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder | 1532 | 71.128 | MET | ||
| View of the Town of Alkmaar | Salomon van Ruysdael | 71.135 | MET | |||
| Surprised, or Infidelity Found Out | Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich | 71.142 | MET | |||
| The Calling of Matthew | Workshop of Jan Sanders van Hemessen | 1600s | 71.155 | MET | ||
| The Mourning Virgin; The Man of Sorrows | Copy after Dieric Bouts | 1600s | 71.156–57 | MET | ||
| The Newborn Baby | Matthijs Naiveu | 1675 | 71.160 | MET | ||
| The Adoration of the Shepherds | Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich | 71.162 | MET | |||
| Abraham's Parting from the Family of Lot | Jan Victors | 71.170 | MET |