Kress, S. H.

Kress, S. H. (Samuel Henry) (1863–1955) retailer, art collector, philanthropist; born in Cherryville, Pa. He bought his first two stores in Pennsylvania (1887 and 1890) in collaboration with his brother Claude Washington Kress (1876–1940). By 1900 the brothers owned 12 stores in the South; the chain of 51 five-and-dime stores, S. H. Kress Company, was incorporated in 1916, with headquarters in New York City; at Kress's death the chain numbered 264 stores. An art collector who specialized in works of medieval and Renaissance Italy, he was president of the National Gallery of Art (1945–55) and a director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He donated hundreds of paintings to 14 museums across the United States and gave millions of dollars to restore historic buildings in Italy. He established the Kress Foundation in 1929, to which he bequeathed most of his estate. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1945.