Art Talk: Collector Peter M. Brant with Bonnie Clearwater

Peter M. Brant is an entrepreneur, manufacturing executive, publisher, philanthropist, sportsman and art collector, whose eclectic mix of personal interests and commercial ventures have resulted in achievements in business, philanthropy and the arts.

Mr. Brant is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based White Birch Paper, among the largest newsprint manufacturers in the world. Among Mr. Brant’s longest held personal passions is contemporary art. His well-regarded collection includes works by contemporary masters Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol, among many other notable artists. His interest in art led him into film producing, including Andy Warhol’s Bad (1977), Basquiat (1996), Pollock (2000), Andy Warhol: A Documentary (2006), The Homesman (2014), and more recently Paint (2023). He is the founder of the Greenwich Polo Club, co-founder of the Bridgehampton Polo Club, and the co-founder of the Saratoga Polo Association. He is also the founder and owner of White Birch Farm, which has bred and campaigned many famous thoroughbred racehorses.

As his primary philanthropic focus, Mr. Brant established The Brant Foundation, Inc. and The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, both based in Greenwich, CT. The organizations promote education and appreciation of contemporary art and design. The Brant Foundation, Inc. makes artwork available to institutions and individuals for scholarly study, examination and loan. The Brant Foundation Art Study Center mounts exhibitions open to the public by appointment at no charge.

Mr. Brant published many of Andy Warhol’s prints including the series of ten Mao prints in 1972, an edition of which he donated to NSU Art Museum. These prints are currently on view in Hooray for Hollywood. Artwork by Karen Kilimnik on view in the current exhibition The Swans are on loan from The Brant Foundation.

Image: Courtesy of Peter M. Brant. Photography by Patrick Demarchelier.