Gulbenkian, Calouste Sarkis

(1869-1955)

   Armenian oil tycoon, philanthropist, and art connoisseur-collector who settled in Portugal in World War II and whose donated wealth forms the basis for the Gulbenkian Foundation, situated in Lisbon. Born in Scutari, Turkey, when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, Calouste Gulben-kian made a huge fortune and became one of Europe's wealthiest individuals through investment in Iraqi petroleum. While the oil business and investments were his work, the appreciation and collection of rare art represented his passion. During the 1920s and 1930s, he purchased a rich collection of Western and Oriental art. Some of it was loaned to great museums in London and Washington, and some of it was displayed in his mansion in Paris on Avenue d'lena.

   Gulbenkian's life and the fate of his possessions were changed by the fortunes of World War II and by his residence in Portugal. In April 1942, Gulbenkian fled Vichy France and settled in Portugal. Between his arrival and his death in July 1955, he made dispositions of his possessions and wealth, which have had an almost incalculable impact on Portugal's arts, culture, science, and education. After declining to build a museum for his unmatched art collection either in London or Washington, D.C., Gulbenkian decided to build such a home in Portugal and to endow an international foundation in Lisbon. Since his death in 1955 and inauguration of the foundation headquarters in the late 1960s, a museum and a contemporary arts museum have opened, and Portuguese and other Lusophone arts and science circles have greatly benefited.