Andrew W. Mellon

Andrew W. Mellon
Born	Andrew William Mellon 24 3, 1855
Birthplace	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Southampton, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Banker, industrialist, philanthropist, government official
Title	United States Secretary of the Treasury
Known for	U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1921–1932), founding donor of the National Gallery of Art, founder of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (predecessor organizations)
Education	University of Pittsburgh (attended, did not graduate)
Spouse(s)	Nora McMullen (m. 1900; div. 1912)
Children	2

Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937) was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932 under three consecutive presidents: Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. One of the wealthiest Americans of his era, Mellon built a vast financial empire centered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with interests spanning banking, aluminum, oil, steel, and construction. His tenure at the Treasury Department was defined by sweeping tax cuts for high earners and aggressive efforts to reduce the national debt accumulated during World War I, policies that earned him both fervent admirers and sharp critics. Beyond politics and finance, Mellon was among the foremost art collectors of the twentieth century, and his donation of his personal collection and funds for a building to house it led to the creation of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His philanthropic legacy endures through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which remains one of the largest private foundations in the United States and a major force in American higher education and the humanities.

Early Life

Andrew William Mellon was born on March 24, 1855, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Mellon, an Irish-born judge and banker, and Sarah Jane Negley. Thomas Mellon had emigrated from Ulster as a child and built a successful legal career before founding T. Mellon & Sons' Bank in 1869. The Mellon household was steeped in the culture of Presbyterian industriousness and financial discipline that characterized Pittsburgh's rising mercantile class in the mid-nineteenth century.

Andrew was one of eight children, though not all survived to adulthood. His upbringing was shaped by his father's firm belief in the values of thrift, self-reliance, and hard work. Thomas Mellon took a keen interest in his sons' education and their preparation for careers in business and banking. Andrew grew up in a Pittsburgh that was rapidly industrializing, becoming the center of American steel and glass production, and the economic dynamism of the city left a lasting imprint on his outlook.

As a young man, Andrew demonstrated the aptitude for finance that would define his career. He entered his father's banking business and quickly proved himself capable of managing complex financial affairs. His early exposure to banking and investment gave him a practical education in capital allocation, risk assessment, and the opportunities created by America's expanding industrial economy.

Education

Mellon attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, the institution that would later become the University of Pittsburgh. He studied there but did not complete a degree, instead opting to enter the family banking business. His practical training in finance at T. Mellon & Sons' Bank served as the foundation for his subsequent career in banking and industry.

Career

Banking and Industrial Empire

Andrew Mellon took over the management of T. Mellon & Sons' Bank in 1882, when his father transferred control of the institution to him. Under Andrew's leadership, the bank grew considerably, and it was reorganized and renamed the Mellon National Bank. Andrew proved adept at identifying promising industrial ventures and providing them with the capital necessary to expand. His investment strategy was built on close relationships with entrepreneurs and a willingness to back enterprises in emerging industries.

Among the most consequential of Mellon's business investments was his early support for the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), which came to dominate aluminum production in the United States. Mellon also held substantial interests in Gulf Oil Corporation, one of the major American petroleum companies of the early twentieth century, and in numerous other enterprises spanning steel, coal, coke, construction, and financial services. Through the Mellon National Bank and a network of affiliated companies, the Mellon family became one of the most powerful financial dynasties in the United States, rivaling the Rockefellers, Morgans, and Carnegies.

Mellon's approach to business was characterized by a preference for quiet, behind-the-scenes management. He was not a flamboyant figure in the mold of some of his contemporaries; rather, he cultivated a reputation for methodical analysis, conservative risk-taking, and long-term thinking. By the early twentieth century, the Mellon financial interests were among the largest concentrations of private wealth in American history.

Secretary of the Treasury

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Mellon as United States Secretary of the Treasury, a position he would hold for over a decade, serving under three presidents. At the time of his appointment, Mellon was already one of the richest men in the country, and his selection was seen as an indication of the pro-business orientation of the Harding administration.

Mellon's tenure at Treasury was defined by his advocacy of what became known as "Mellonomics" — a program of sharp reductions in the top marginal income tax rates, reduction of the national debt, and limited government spending. Mellon argued that excessively high tax rates on wealthy individuals and businesses discouraged investment and economic growth. He pushed successfully for a series of revenue acts during the 1920s that dramatically lowered the top income tax rate from 73 percent to 24 percent. He also oversaw significant reductions in the national debt, which fell from approximately $24 billion after World War I to around $16 billion by the end of the decade.

Mellon's tax policies were controversial. Supporters credited him with fostering the economic prosperity of the 1920s, a period of rapid industrial expansion, rising stock prices, and widespread consumer optimism. Critics, both then and later, argued that his policies disproportionately benefited the wealthy, contributed to growing economic inequality, and helped set the stage for the speculative excesses that culminated in the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.

When the Great Depression struck, Mellon's reputation suffered severely. He was widely associated with the economic policies that many blamed for the crisis. His advice to President Hoover during the early stages of the Depression — reportedly urging a policy of liquidation rather than government intervention — became one of the most notorious policy prescriptions of the era. As public anger over the Depression mounted, Mellon became a lightning rod for criticism.

In 1932, President Hoover appointed Mellon as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, a move widely interpreted as an effort to remove him from the increasingly controversial Treasury post. Mellon served as ambassador for approximately one year before returning to the United States.

Tax Controversy

Following his departure from the Treasury, Mellon became the subject of a major tax dispute with the federal government. The Roosevelt administration accused Mellon of tax evasion, alleging that he had used charitable donations and other devices to reduce his tax liability improperly. The case became a cause célèbre, with supporters viewing it as political persecution and opponents seeing it as a justified effort to hold the wealthy accountable. After a lengthy proceeding before the Board of Tax Appeals, Mellon's estate was largely vindicated, though the dispute colored his final years and added to the political controversy surrounding his legacy.

Art Collection and the National Gallery of Art

Alongside his financial and political career, Mellon was one of the most significant art collectors in American history. He amassed a collection of Old Master paintings and sculpture of extraordinary quality, acquiring works by artists including Raphael, Titian, Jan van Eyck, Botticelli, and Rembrandt. Among the most famous episodes in his collecting career was his purchase, in the early 1930s, of a group of masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), which the Soviet government sold to raise foreign currency.

Mellon's ambition extended beyond private collecting. He conceived of the idea of donating his collection, along with substantial funds for the construction of a museum building, to the United States government for the creation of a national art gallery. The resulting institution, the National Gallery of Art, was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1937 and opened to the public in 1941, four years after Mellon's death. Designed by architect John Russell Pope, the National Gallery's neoclassical West Building on the National Mall became one of Washington's most prominent landmarks.

Mellon's gift was remarkable for its scale and its terms. He donated not only his personal collection — valued at the time at tens of millions of dollars — but also the funds necessary to construct the museum, stipulating that the institution not bear his name alone so as to encourage other collectors to contribute their works. This strategy proved successful; the National Gallery attracted subsequent donations from collectors including Samuel H. Kress, Chester Dale, and Joseph Widener, and it grew into one of the world's preeminent art museums.

Philanthropy and the Mellon Foundation

Mellon's philanthropic activities extended well beyond the National Gallery. He made substantial donations to the University of Pittsburgh, including funding for the construction of the Cathedral of Learning, and to other educational and cultural institutions. He and his brother Richard B. Mellon established philanthropic organizations that would eventually be consolidated into the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1969, through the merger of the Avalon Foundation (established by Mellon's daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce) and the Old Dominion Foundation (established by Mellon's son, Paul Mellon).

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has grown into one of the largest and most influential private foundations in the United States. With an endowment of several billion dollars, the foundation has focused its grantmaking on higher education, the humanities, the arts, and cultural heritage. In recent decades, the foundation has played a particularly significant role in shaping the humanities landscape in American universities and cultural institutions.

Under the leadership of Elizabeth Alexander, who became president in 2018, the Mellon Foundation underwent a significant reorientation, emphasizing social justice and racial equity as central themes in its grantmaking. This shift has been the subject of considerable discussion and debate in academic and cultural circles. The foundation has continued to fund a wide range of initiatives, including programs connecting indigenous communities with museum collections, open calls for higher education research and curricular projects, partnerships with the Jazz Foundation of America to honor jazz musicians through its Jazz Legacies Fellows program, and the appointment of senior fellows such as Dr. Carla Hayden, the former Librarian of Congress.

Personal Life

Andrew Mellon married Nora McMullen, a young Englishwoman from Hertfordshire, in 1900. The couple had two children: Ailsa Mellon (later Ailsa Mellon Bruce) and Paul Mellon. The marriage was troubled, and Nora Mellon filed for divorce in 1909, with the proceedings becoming a subject of considerable public interest. The divorce was finalized in 1912 and was acrimonious; Nora alleged neglect and claimed that Andrew was consumed by business to the exclusion of family life, while Andrew's defenders attributed the failure of the marriage to incompatibility.

Following the divorce, Mellon did not remarry. He devoted himself increasingly to his business interests, his political career, and his art collection. His son, Paul Mellon, became a noted philanthropist, art collector, and racehorse breeder in his own right, and played a central role in continuing the Mellon family's philanthropic legacy, including through the establishment of the Old Dominion Foundation and significant gifts to the National Gallery of Art, Yale University, and other institutions. His daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, established the Avalon Foundation, which later merged to form the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Mellon was known for his reserved, private demeanor. He was not given to public displays of emotion or self-promotion, and his personal style was austere and businesslike. He maintained homes in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., as well as a country estate.

Andrew W. Mellon died on August 26, 1937, in Southampton, New York, at the age of 82.

Legacy

Andrew W. Mellon's legacy is complex and multifaceted, spanning the fields of finance, government, art, and philanthropy. As a banker and industrialist, he helped shape the modern American economy, and the Mellon financial interests remained a significant force in American business for decades after his death. As Secretary of the Treasury, his tax and fiscal policies influenced American economic thought and remain debated among economists and historians; advocates of supply-side economics have frequently cited Mellon as a forerunner of their approach, while critics have pointed to the social costs and distributional consequences of his policies.

His most tangible and universally praised legacy is the National Gallery of Art, which stands as one of the premier art institutions in the world. The gallery's collection, building, and institutional model all bear the imprint of Mellon's vision and generosity. His insistence that the museum be named for the nation rather than for himself reflected a distinctive approach to public philanthropy that sought to inspire future giving.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which bears his name and traces its origins to philanthropic vehicles established by his children, continues to exert substantial influence over American higher education, the humanities, and the arts. As of the mid-2020s, the foundation remains one of the largest funders of humanities research and arts programming in the United States, and its grantmaking decisions carry significant weight in academic and cultural institutions. The foundation's evolving priorities — including a turn toward social justice themes under recent leadership — have prompted discussion about the relationship between philanthropic intent, institutional mission, and changing social values.

Mellon's name is commemorated in numerous institutions and places, including the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (now part of Carnegie Mellon University), the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and various programs and fellowships at universities and cultural organizations across the United States.