Kenyon Painter
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Kenyon Vickers Painter | |
|---|---|
 Kenyon V. Painter at eighteen | |
| Born | 1867 |
| Died | 1940 (aged 72–73) |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland |
| Alma mater | Yale |
| Occupations | big game hunter, banker |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Chisholm; Leila Maud Wyeth |
Kenyon Vickers Painter (January 14, 1867 – March 20, 1940) was an American banker, noted big game hunter, art collector and philanthropist.[1] In later life, he was convicted of misapplication of funds from his bank, and sentenced to prison.[2]
Painter, as the head of the largest bank in Cleveland, Ohio, was extremely generous. He supported the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as being a major sponsor of churches, and was one of the founders, along with his wife Mary Chisholm Painter, of Western Reserve University, now known as Case Western Reserve University, one of the first universities in the county dedicated to the education of women. He was well known not only for his generosity, but also for his sporting lifestyle. He went on a number of safaris in Africa including one with President Teddy Roosevelt. He was also involved in early car races and was a cricket player in the athletic club in Cleveland.
Painter was born on 14 January 1867 in West Chester, Pennsylvania to wealthy parents, both of whom were Quakers. His mother, Lydia Ethel Farmer Painter, was a writer and an explorer whose exploits she detailed in her book Under Egypt's Skies. She also inherited the Farmer fortune which included the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. His father was John Vickers Painter, who distinguished himself managing the Cleveland office of the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad Company, and subsequently became a private banker.[3]
Painter attended St. Paul's School in New Hampshire from 1881 to 1886, and then went to Yale University where he graduated in 1889. He married Mary Chisholm in 1893, who died in 1901.
In 1904, after the death of his father, Painter built an eighty-room mansion in Cleveland on twenty-eight acres of land.[1] Painter kept a small zoo and a deer park on the grounds.[1][4] In 1909 he married Leila Maud Wyeth and they had three children who survived to adulthood.
He died of a heart attack on 20 March 1940, in Cleveland Heights.[2] His mansion was purchased by the Ursuline Sisters and in 1942 the property became the Beaumont School.[4]