Coles, Elizabeth Underhill
type Collector
dates 1816-1891
city New York City
stateNY
other citiesLong Island, NY; Newport, RI;
sex F
history Elizabeth Underhill Coles was a member of an old Long Island family, widow of William F Coles (1790-1865) and an art collector. Coles collected paintings, statuary, bronzes, tapestries, and other decorative arts.

The Coles collection included 12 tapestries from the Barberini family, paintings by, among others, Diaz, Cabanel, Meissonier, Rosa Bonheur, Carl Becker, Gilbert Stuart, Dupré, Defaux, Artz, Daniel Huntington, Sèvres porcelain, and other decorative arts including a pair of malachite serpentine candelabras, antique marble pedestals, and a malachite and bronze table.

Coles gave the Barberini family tapestries to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In memory of her son, William Franklin Coles (d.1881), she bequeathed a fund of $20,000 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the maintenance and increase of the collection.

Additionally, Coles left several Barberini family tapestries to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Much of the Coles collection was on long term loan with the Metropolitan Art Museum and some items were sold at an auction via Anderson Galleries in March of 1917.

decades1840-1850
1850-1860
1860-1870
1870-1880
1880-1890
updated 02/14/2025 10:12:28
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Durr Friedley Records, 1906-1918 see details...