William Wilson Corcoran

William Wilson Corcoran
Born	Georgetown, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	24 February 1888(1888-02-24) (aged 89) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation(s)	Banker, philanthropist, art collector
Known for	Establishing the Corcoran Gallery of Art

William Wilson Corcoran (December 27, 1798 – February 24, 1888) was a prominent American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He is best known for establishing the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C..

Early life and education

Born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Corcoran was one of twelve siblings, with six surviving into adulthood. His father, Thomas Corcoran, an Irish immigrant and merchant, served twice as mayor of Georgetown. William received his education in classical studies and mathematics at private institutions locally and spent a year at Georgetown College before entering the family business.

Career

At age seventeen, Corcoran began his career working in a dry goods store and opened his own branch two years afterward. Together with his brothers, he started a wholesale auction and commission enterprise that ultimately failed due to the Panic of 1819. Subsequently, he engaged in family ventures and inherited significant real estate holdings from his father in 1828.

He took a position as a clerk at the Bank of Columbia’s Georgetown branch and later oversaw real estate and loan operations at the Second Bank of the United States in Washington.

In 1837, Corcoran established a brokerage firm on Pennsylvania Avenue. By 1840, he formed a partnership with George Washington Riggs, creating a private banking firm that secured the support of Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury. The firm thrived after successfully reselling $5 million (approximately $170 million today) in U.S. Treasury notes in 1843. Two years later, they purchased the former Second Bank building located at 15th Street and New York Avenue.

In 1847, Corcoran and Riggs sold large portions of two U.S. Treasury bond issues related to the Mexican War both domestically and abroad, which earned Corcoran $1 million. He retired from banking in 1854 to concentrate on investments spanning real estate, land grants, armaments, railroads, as well as philanthropic activities and personal interests.

Art

Distinct from many of his peers, Corcoran prioritized building one of the earliest major collections devoted to American art, alongside European masterpieces.

In 1851, he acquired the second marble version of American sculptor Hiram Powers’s provocative statue "The Greek Slave", which he considered his most valuable possession. By the mid-1850s, his collection had outgrown his mansion on Lafayette Square. Consequently, in 1859 he commissioned renowned architect James Renwick to design a picture gallery in the Second Empire style on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Before its completion, the outbreak of the American Civil War forced Corcoran—who sympathized with the South—to move to Paris where his son-in-law served as a representative for the Confederacy. During this time, the unfinished gallery was confiscated by the U.S. government and repurposed as a supply depot.

Following the war’s conclusion, Corcoran returned to Washington and finalized construction in 1869. The Corcoran Gallery of Art opened its doors in 1874 but soon required enlargement. A new Beaux-Arts style structure designed by American architect Ernest Flagg was completed in 1897, nine years after Corcoran’s death. Its façade exemplifies the "Neo-Grec" style, focusing on practical design enhanced by ornamental exterior details. The initial gallery building now functions as the Renwick Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

Philanthropy

Following his retirement in 1854, Corcoran devoted his considerable wealth to supporting the arts and charitable causes. In 1848, he acquired 15 acres overlooking Rock Creek Park for Oak Hill Cemetery and founded the Oak Hill Cemetery Company, which Congress officially incorporated in 1849. He financed the building of the Gothic Revival Renwick Chapel at Oak Hill, one of architect Renwick’s rare projects in Washington.

Corcoran created a $10,000 endowment to supply firewood to impoverished residents of Georgetown and made donations to various educational institutions such as The George Washington University, Maryland Agricultural College, College of William and Mary, and Washington and Lee University. He also played a role in safeguarding George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate when the federal government chose not to acquire it. His longtime business partner was George Peabody.

His generous gifts to Columbian University (now George Washington University) included funding for academic departments and land for the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes. Corcoran held the position of President of Columbian University’s Corporation. In 1883, he personally covered expenses to bring back the remains of John Howard Payne, a close friend and author of "Home! Sweet Home!"

In 1869, Corcoran founded the Louise Home for Women in honor of his late wife, aimed at assisting destitute women. Opening its doors in 1871 on Massachusetts Avenue NW, the home operated until 1947 before relocating and later merging with the Abraham and Laura Lisner Home for Aged Women in 1976. As of 2021, the Louise Home remains active as part of the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home.

Slavery

Corcoran was an owner of at least one enslaved individual named Mary. In the 1930s, George Peabody associated him with involvement in the slave trade. Nevertheless, Corcoran showed support for abolitionist efforts by freeing Mary and her four children in 1845. Additionally, in 1851, he financed the liberation of a formerly enslaved person who had escaped but was subsequently captured.

Personal life

At age 35, Corcoran married Louise Morris, daughter of Commodore Charles Morris, in 1835. They had three children; however, only one survived beyond infancy:

• Harriet Louise Corcoran (1836–1837), who died as an infant.
• Louise Morris Corcoran (1838–1867), who married George Eustis, Jr. in 1859.
• Charles Morris Corcoran (1840–1841), who also died during infancy.

Corcoran became a member of Potomac Lodge No. 5 of the Free and Accepted Masons in Georgetown and attained the rank of Master Mason by 1827.

Death

After losing his wife in 1840, Corcoran chose not to remarry. He passed away on February 24, 1888, in Washington, D.C., and was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Descendants

Through his daughter Louise, Corcoran was grandfather to William Corcoran Eustis (1862–1921), who served as a diplomat and captain on General Pershing’s staff, as well as Louise Marie Eustis Hitchcock (1867–1934), who wed notable sportsman Thomas Hitchcock in 1891.

Corcoran’s niece, Mrs. S. Charles Hill, was the founder of the Washington Home for Incurables.

Legacy

The bank Corcoran helped establish in 1840 continued as Riggs Bank until it was acquired by PNC Bank in 2005. The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., one of America’s oldest private art museums, was dissolved in 2014; its collections were transferred to the National Gallery of Art, while its building and affiliated art school became part of George Washington University. Corcoran’s legacy persists through streets bearing his name in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle and Ivy City neighborhoods, along with the Corcoran neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Furthermore, Mount Corcoran in California’s Sierra Nevada is named in his honor.

External links

• Corcoran Gallery of Art History