Richard H. Driehaus (1942-2021)

Dear Friends of the Driehaus Museum,

It is with deep sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Richard H. Driehaus of natural causes on March 9, 2021 at the age of 78. The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, which he founded in 2003, is one of the greatest gifts he made to the people of Chicago.

Whether you knew him personally, or only knew of him through this Museum or his other philanthropic activities in Chicago, it should be clear that supporting the arts and culture in this city was as essential to Mr. Driehaus’ life as his business activities. He was a larger-than-life figure whose magnetic personality was matched only by his enormous generosity.

Both individually, and through the work of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trusts, he supported an array of different organizations and initiatives including programs that help working people avoid poverty, programs in architecture and design, music and dance, fashion, theatre, and historic preservation of architectural landmarks. Perhaps, because of his own roots and entrepreneurial path, he found it particularly rewarding to support smaller, less well-funded organizations that valued every penny and knew how to maximize their value and impact.

The Driehaus Museum is a testament to Richard Driehaus’ vision to inspire minds and bring joy to the hearts of the public through transformative experiences with great works of art, architecture, and design. His loving restoration of the 1883 Nickerson Mansion not only brought it back to its Gilded Age splendor, but the conversion of it for use as a museum preserves the legacy of this house as an immersive space for learning through significant art collections.

In particular, he cherished his collection of decorative art objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among them, objects by Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Wiener  Werkstätte, Hector Guimard, and many other Art Nouveau artists and designers - works of art that are at the heart of the Museum’s collection. He cared deeply about his collections and loved to share these works with the public in an environment of beauty, worthy of the objects themselves. Sentiments such as those of 19th-century English architecture critic John Ruskin that the source of all beauty is nature and that “fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together” are the cornerstone of the “whole experience” that Mr. Driehaus envisioned.

Mr. Driehaus was a Chicagoan through and through: he attended St. Margaret of Scotland for elementary school, St. Ignatius College Prep for high school, and received both his B.A. and M.B.A. from DePaul University (in 1965 and 1970 respectively). His career in finance kicked off at A.G. Becker, where he became its youngest portfolio manager. Over the next decade, he worked at various brokerage firms including Mullaney, Wells & Co. and Jesup & Lamont, before founding Driehaus Securities Corporation LLC in 1979. In 1982 he formed Driehaus Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm widely known for expertise in growth-oriented equity and alternative investment strategies.  In a life devoted to preservation, his business initiatives in Chicago and around the world, like the museum he founded, occupy space in historic buildings that he acquired and carefully restored.


On behalf of the Museum and its Board of Trustees, as well as the Driehaus family, we want to thank you for your support of this institution that is so much a part of Mr. Driehaus’ legacy in Chicago and beyond. His brilliance, passion, humor, genuine heart, and pursuit of excellence will always be a guiding light in the galleries along with the voices of all the talented people who built and beautified the Nickerson Mansion.

Anna Musci
Executive Director

More On the Passing of Richard H. Driehaus
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Art Newspaper
The Architect's Newspaper
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Sun-Times
Driehaus Capital Management

To learn more about Richard H. Driehaus, view The Man and His Museum: Making a Masterpiece below:

On March 26, 2021, the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture presented
In Memoriam: Richard H. Driehaus, available to view below:


 

Images from top: Richard H. Driehaus, 2012. Tiffany Studios (American, est. 1902) Nautilus Shell Centerpiece Lamp c. 1910 Mother-of-pearl, gilt-bronze, blown glass, nautilus shell. 26 x 23 in. (66 x 58.4 cm) Shade: Diam.: 14 in. (35.6 cm). René Lalique (French, 1860-1945), Chrysanthemum Pendant-brooch, c. 1900. Gold, enamel, glass, diamond, baroque pearl. Tiffany Studios (American, est. 1902) , Designed by Frederick Wilson, Ecclesiastical Angels (Angels of Peace and Mercy) (detail), 1905. The Collection of Richard H. Driehaus, Chicago, 40016. Photograph by Michael Tropea, 2018.