Billings, C. K. G. (Cornelius Kingsley Garrison), 1861-

print view

role

Collector

dates

1861-1937

city

Santa Barbara

state

CA

other cities

Saratoga Springs, NY; Chicago, IL; Racine, WI; New York, NY; Long Island, NY;

sex

M

historical notes

Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings was a manufacturer (Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company), capitalist (Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation), philanthropist, sportsman, horse breeder (part owner of Omar Khayyam, Kentucky Derby winner; owner of Uhlan and Lou Dillon), and art collector.

Paintings from the Billings’ collection sold on January 8, 1926, via the American Art Galleries on Madison Avenue between 56th and 57th streets.

He owned work by, among others, Adolph Schreyer, Jean Francois Millet, Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Charles Émile Jacque, Félix Ziem, Jean Charles Cazin, Jules Dupré, Charles Francois Daubigny, Willem Maris, John Crome, Joseph Israëls, Constant Troyon, and Émile van Marcke.

Billings had estates in California (Billings Estate), New York (Tryon Hall in Washington Heights, New York, and Farnsworth in Long Island, New York), Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Billings was married to Blanche Elizabeth MacLeish (1863-1937); they had two children, Blanche Pauline Billings (1884-1968, later Blanche Vander Poel, m. 1910, William Halsted Vander Poel, 1885-) and Albert Merritt Billing (1894-1926). His parents were Augusta Sarah Farnsworth (1821-1913) and Albert Merritt Billings (1814-1897).

decades
of activity

1890-1900
1900-1910
1910-1920
1920-1930
1930-1940

website

https://archive.org/details/famousmasterpiec00amer

updated

10/31/2024 13:33:24

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Archives/Repository	Collection Title	Collection Details
Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia University	Estate of C.K.G. Billings Esq., Riverside Drive, N.Y. : [detail drawings of ceiling in sections, elevation, and 1/2 plan]	see details...
Western Reserve Historical Society Library	Louis Van Oeyen Photographs	see details...