Peter Lewis, the philanthropist and art collector, has always been something of an iconoclast. So some of his friends and colleagues were not surprised by his decision to leave the board of the Guggenheim Museum abruptly and stop handing over cheques to the New York institution.
A billionaire, Lewis made his money selling auto insurance in Cleveland, Ohio, having inherited a small company called Progressive Mutual from his father. Over the years, he transformed Progressive from a sleepy company into the third-biggest insurer in the US.
But the insurance business never really excited the interest of the Princeton graduate. Art and liberal causes were more to his liking. Over the years, he has lavished money on a selection of alternative projects, ranging from the legalisation of marijuana to funding artists in Africa and Latin America.
Inspired by David Rockefeller, who introduced an art collection at Chase Manhattan Bank, Lewis started his own at Progressive to inspire his staff to think "outside the box". Until recently, Toby Lewis, his ex-wife, was the chief curator of the exhibition, which boasts some 6,000 modern pieces by artists such as Thomas Struth and Kerry James Marshall.
Could the Guggenheim's loss be Progressive's gain? What a windfall it could be for the up-and-coming art collection. Lewis, the Guggenheim's biggest benefactor, reportedly donated $77m to the museum.
