About Henry Walters
Henry Walters was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will for the benefit of the public. From the late 19th century, Walters lived most of the time in New York City, where from 1903 on, he served on the executive committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was selected as second vice president in 1913, a position he held until his death. Walters agreed to buy the collection for the sum of five million Italian lire, equivalent at the time to $1.0 million. Walters died in 1931, leaving his museum building and its contents to the mayor and city council of Baltimore "for the benefit of the public." The Walters Art Museum opened its doors for the first time as a public institution on November 3, 1934. Henry graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1869.
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