Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Burden, Carter print view role Collector dates 1941-1996 city New York City state NY other cities Beverly Hills, CA; Portsmouth, RI; sex M historical notes Collector, bibliophile, businessman, politician, publisher, founder of a broadcasting empire (Commodore Media), and benefactor of the arts. He was a collector of masterly drawings, including works by Sargent, Picasso and Matisse. As a bibliophile he collected of first editions of 20th-century American authors, like Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Hemingway. In the 1970's, Burden financed his book purchases through the sale of his large collection of contemporary paintings. In philanthropy, he was a major benefactor of the New York Public Library, the Morgan Library and the New York City Ballet, as well as the Burden Center for the Aging in Yorkville, which he established and helped finance. He also supported the National Crime Prevention Council, the Brookdale Center on Aging, Wellesley College and Survivors of Domestic Abuse. Burden was the son of photographer Shirley Carter Burden and the great-great-great grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. His first wife, Amanda Jay Mortimer, was the daughter of Stanley Mortimer, a grandson of a founder of Standard Oil, and of Barbara (Babe) Cushing, who divorced Mr. Mortimer and married William S. Paley, the founder of CBS, when Amanda was 3. Burden and his first wife were New York socialites. They threw parties which included Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Larry Rivers, Robert and Ethel Kennedy, Joan and Edward M. Kennedy, and, once, Prince Philip of Britain as guests. In 1972, Mr. Burden and Amanda were divorced. He married Susan Lombaer in 1977. decades of activity 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990 1990-2000 updated 02/14/2025 10:12:24 bibliographic search Search Frick Art Reference Library Catalog Search Photoarchive Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Search Wikidata Entry Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details The Museum of Modern Art Library and Archives Artist file: Burden, Carter; miscellaneous uncataloged material. see details... Archives of American Art Victor Building, Suite 2200 Oral history interview with Leo Castelli, 1969 May 14 - 1973 June 8. see details... see also: Burden, Shirley «  back