James Watson Webb III[1] (known as J. Watson Jr.) (January 9, 1916 – June 10, 2000) was an American film editor and heir to both the Havemeyer and Vanderbilt families.
He began work in California as an apprentice film editor at 20th-Century Fox, and eventually head of the editing department.[3] He eventually became Zanuck's head film cutter and was involved in the founding of the American Cinema Editors.[2]
Webb succeeded his mother and served as the president of the Shelburne Museum from 1960 until 1977 and then as chairman of the board of directors until 1996. Watson resigned from the board in a dispute over deaccessioning[3] of an estimated $25-million worth of the museum's Impressionist collection which his mother had donated to the museum.[2][5]
Webb gave his mother's folk art first purchase, made at the age of 18 in Stamford, Connecticut, prominent display in his California home for decades.[3]
Personal life
He died in Los Angeles, California, on June 10, 2000.[2] Webb never married and was survived by three nephews and six nieces.[3]
^"Museum's Fortunes Rise at Auction". New York Times. November 13, 1996. Retrieved October 9, 2010. The museum has been losing money steadily and is said to have had a deficit of more than $300,000 in 1994.... The decision to sell some of its collection followed two years of debate among the museum's directors, which became so contentious that the board chairman, J. Watson Webb ... resigned in January. At the time, Mr. Webb said the museum's plans to sell valuable French Impressionist works given by his mother violated the code of ethics of the American Association of Museums, which forbids the selling of artworks for purposes other than acquiring more art.
Further reading
Weitzenhoffer, Frances. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1986.