The Ridley-Tree Legacy

For more than 25 years, uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree and her husband Paul generously supported the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in its mission to “integrate into the lives of people.”

Leslie, who moved to more heavenly pastures two years ago at the age of 98, served on the board of trustees for 15 years, was president of the board from 1994 to 1996, and became a life honorary trustee in 2014.

She was also a lead contributor to the museum’s multi-million-dollar renovation, which culminated in 2021, and made many significant exhibitions possible, including Eternal China, Splendors from the First Dynasties in 1998 and Botticelli, Titian and Beyond: Masterpieces of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums in 2015.

Leslie also supported the refurbishment of a building on Arrellaga Street, renamed the Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House, which now hosts art classes and camp programs. For more than a quarter of a century, the tony twosome donated outright or partially underwrote the acquisition of 58 artworks for the museum.

The new exhibition, A Legacy of Giving, runs through November 3 and includes 30 19th century works the Ridley-Trees donated, and explores five themes relevant to the 21st century.

The show includes works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Paul Signac, Theodore Rousseau, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, and Gustave Courbet.

In conjunction with – and in the spirit of Ridley-Trees’ legacy of community support – the museum is partnering with many of the local organizations that were recipients of the couple’s generosity, including Lotusland, the Music Academy the West, Opera Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Symphony, and Santa Barbara Zoo.

Among the horde of art lovers at the opening bash Marc and Leisa Cosentino, Penny Arntz, Hiroko Benko, David and Anne Gersh, Dan and Robin Cerf, Mary Collier, Beth DeWoody, Mary Dorra, Christine Emmons and Nicolas Robertas, Mary Garton, Isaac Hernandez, Lynn Kirst, Brian King, Arlene Larson, Mark Whitehurst and Kerry Methner, Nick Mutton, George Konstantinow and Helene Segal, Bruce Stark and Anne Luther, Peter and Kathryn Martin, and Richard Weston-Smith and Kirsten Cavendish.