Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870-1935)

He was born at New York City. His father was principal heir to his unmarried cousin, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe who like her father, John David Wolfe, and cousin John Wolfe had been among the leading art connoisseurs and collectors in the city. Cortlandt not only inherited the family art collection, he also inherited the family passion for art. His broadminded interests saw him become an art and book collector, an art dealer, author, aviator, balloonist, auto-enthusiast, and traveller. He purchased the Anderson Gallery, the American Art Association, and The Paris Times.

He was President of the Aero Club of America, a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in France and he held the Order of the Crown of Italy. He made a gift to the Berkshire Museum of various curios he'd collected on his travels, notably hunting knives, swords, spears and javelins from tribes of South America, East and West Indies. After his death, his collection of paintings, European rugs, bronzes, prints, engravings, books, and stamps were sold through the American Art Association. The art included works by John Hoppner, Dürer, Rembrandt, Giovanni da Bologna, Bernardo Rossellino, Joseph Pennell, and Anders Zorn. In 1899, he married Amy, daughter of George H. Bend and they had one daughter. They lived between 15 East 67th Street in New York and Ananda Hall in the Berkshires that replaced his father's home "Interlaken" in 1926 but was itself demolished in 1940.