Editing Andrew Mellon (section)

==Philanthropy and art collection==
[[File:Mellon Institute 01.JPG|right|thumb|[[Mellon Institute of Industrial Research]]]]
[[File:Raphael - The Alba Madonna - Google Art Project.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Alba Madonna]]'' by [[Raphael]], was bought for the Hermitage by Emperor [[Nicholas I of Russia]] in 1836. It was sold to Andrew Mellon by the Soviet Government in 1931 for $1,166,400, the largest sum ever paid for a painting until that time.]]
[[File:Annunciation - Jan van Eyck - 1434 - NG Wash DC.jpg|right|thumb|180px|''[[Annunciation (van Eyck, Washington)|The Annunciation]]'' by [[Jan van Eyck]] (1434) was purchased for the Hermitage by Emperor [[Nicholas I of Russia]] in 1850. It was sold to Andrew Mellon in June 1930 for $502,899.]]
Emulating his father, Mellon eschewed philanthropy for much of his life, but in the early 1900s, he began donating to local organizations such as the [[YMCA]]. Mellon committed to his first large-scale act of philanthropy in 1913, when he and his brother, Richard, established the [[Mellon Institute of Industrial Research]] as a department of the University of Pittsburgh.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 238–241</ref> In 1967, the institute merged with the Carnegie Institute of Technology to form [[Carnegie Mellon University]]. Mellon also served as an alumni president<ref>{{cite book |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu:80/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittyearbooks;cc=pittyearbooks;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=Andrew%20W.%20Mellon;rgn=full%20text;idno=1937e49702;didno=1937e49702;view=image;seq=0037 |title=The 1937 Owl |year=1937 |page=32 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=June 7, 2009 }}</ref> and trustee<ref>{{cite book |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu:80/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=Andrew%20W.%20Mellon;rgn=full%20text;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=0067 |last=Alberts |first=Robert C. |title=Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987 |page=47 |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-8229-1150-0 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |access-date=June 7, 2009 }}</ref> of the University of Pittsburgh, and made several major donations to the school, including the land on which the [[Cathedral of Learning]] and [[Heinz Chapel]] were constructed.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu:80/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;g=documentingpitt;xc=1;xg=1;q1=Andrew%20W.%20Mellon;rgn=full%20text;idno=00afj8718m;didno=00afj8718m;view=image;seq=0314 |last=Starrett |first=Agnes Lynch |title=Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh |page=256  |year=1937 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |access-date=June 7, 2009 }}</ref> In total it is estimated that Mellon donated over $43 million to the University of Pittsburgh.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittmiscpubs;cc=pittmiscpubs;idno=00c50130m;didno=00c50130m;view=image;seq=201|last=Alberts |first=Robert C. |title=Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987 |page=182 |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-8229-1150-0 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |access-date=June 7, 2009 }}</ref>

Encouraged by Frick and guided by [[Charles Carstairs]], Mellon began collecting art in the mid-to-late 1890s.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 130–131</ref> Over the ensuing decades, his art collection continued to grow as he purchased pieces from [[Knoedler]] and [[Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen|Joseph Duveen]], and during the 1920s his collection was generally considered to be one of the finest art collections in Washington.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 323–324</ref> In the early 1930s, he purchased, according to Cannadine, just under half of the "greatest paintings" from the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[Hermitage Museum]] in the [[Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 416–425</ref>  [[List of original Hermitage paintings in the National Gallery of Art|Twenty-one paintings]], of the highest quality, were later given to the National Gallery of Art.

Mellon decided to use his fortune and art collection to establish a national art museum in Washington modeled after the [[National Gallery]] in London.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 539</ref> In 1936, Mellon presented President Roosevelt with an offer to establish a national art museum to which Mellon would donate his art collection as well as an endowment, while the federal government would pay for the institution's upkeep. He conditioned the offer on the establishment of a board of trustees, a majority of whom would be chosen by Mellon. Despite the ongoing tax case against Mellon, the Roosevelt administration accepted the offer, and Congress passed legislation authorizing the construction of the [[National Gallery of Art]] on Mellon's terms.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 559–566</ref> The National Gallery of Art opened in 1941 and continues to operate.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 589</ref> Mellon's friend and former employee, [[David E. Finley Jr.]], would later preside over the establishment of the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]], which also hosts several paintings donated by Mellon.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 594</ref>

Mellon was initiated to the [[Scottish Rite]] Freemasonry,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://pub.acgl.eu/index.php/freemasonry/information |  title = Famous men members of Masonic Lodges | website = American Canadian Grand Lodge ACGL | language = en | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181117142833/https://pub.acgl.eu/index.php/freemasonry/information | archive-date = November 17, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bavarialodge.org/freemasonry | title = Famous members of Masonic Lodges | language = en | website = Bavaria Lodge No. 935 A.F. & A. M. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181013211059/https://www.bavarialodge.org/freemasonry | archive-date = October 13, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref> till he raised the 33rd and highest degree.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://scottishritecolsga.com/information/famous-mason-s/ | title = Information about famous members of Freemasonry | website = Scottish Rite Center (Columbus, Orient of Georgia) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140930212346/http://scottishritecolsga.com/information/famous-mason-s/ | archive-date = September 30, 2014 | url-status = live}}</ref>