Henry Osborne Havemeyer

Life & Legacy

Henry Osborne Havemeyer (October 18, 1847 – December 4, 1907) was an American industrialist, entrepreneur and sugar refiner who founded and became president of the American Sugar Refining Company in 1891.
Havemeyer was the third generation of his family in the sugar business and oversaw the expansion of the family firm into the American Sugar Refining Company, which dominated the sugar industry in the late 19th century. Together with his wife, Louisine Havemeyer, he was an avid and prolific collector of art, one of the earliest collectors to bring Impressionist art to America, guided by artist Mary Cassatt. After Louisine Havemeyer's death in 1929, a large part of their collection was bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.