Stephen Courtauld was born in Bocking, Essex, the son of Sydney Courtauld and Sarah Lucy Sharpe and youngest brother of Samuel Courtauld, founder of the Courtauld Institute of Art.
18 Facts About Stephen Courtauld
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Stephen Courtauld was educated at Rugby and King's College, Cambridge.
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Stephen Courtauld did not enter the family business but his wealthy background enabled him to travel extensively and to pursue cultural and philanthropic interests.
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Stephen Courtauld became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1920.
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Stephen Courtauld later became a member of the Council and was Vice President of the Society.
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Stephen Courtauld was chairman of the committee to raise the necessary funds to equip the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, led by Gino Watkins.
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Stephen Courtauld funded construction of an ice rink in Westminster, the London Ice Club, which opened on 13 January 1927.
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Stephen Courtauld collaborated with Basil Dean and Reginald Baker and made a substantial financial contribution to the construction and development of Ealing Studios.
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Stephen Courtauld was chairman of the Ealing Studios group of companies for 20 years and was instrumental in the appointment of Michael Balcon to take charge of the production programme in 1938.
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Stephen Courtauld was a trustee of the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden, and provided financial support for the Courtauld Galleries in Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum.
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Stephen Courtauld funded a Scholarship for the Art of Engraving at the British School at Rome.
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Stephen Courtauld undertook the redevelopment of Eltham Palace in Eltham, south-east London with his wife Virginia during the 1930s.
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Stephen Courtauld's achievements included the funding of the construction of buildings for the Courtauld Theatre and Queen's Hall in Mutare.
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Stephen Courtauld built a multi-racial residential club, the Rhodes Club, in Mutare, and founded and endowed the Kukwanisa Farm School in Nyanga for African boys in 1964.
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Stephen Courtauld was chairman of the board of trustees of the Rhodes National Gallery, which opened in 1957.
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Stephen Courtauld bequeathed 93 works of art to the gallery, including works by Rembrandt, Goya, Hogarth and Pissarro.
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Stephen Courtauld was knighted in the 1958 New Year Honours.
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Sir Stephen Courtauld died in Salisbury in 1967, following the amputation of his second leg.