Atherton M. Curtis (April 3, 1863 - October 8, 1943) was an American art collector and a writer from Brooklyn, New York City, who settled permanently in Paris in 1903. He was also an author of introduction, art historian and publisher, who donated numerous archaeological items to the Louvre and other museums. He was also a principal benefactor of the Humane Society, and is recorded as being a strong supporter for the abolition of vivisection. Art collector His fathers wealth derived from medicine patents. This provided Curtis with considerable income initially in the form of trust, followed by inheritance allowing him to invest heavily in the arts. He became recognized as a connoisseur of graphic art. His private collection is exhibited in numerous museums; from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution to the National Portrait Gallery. Curtis started his collection at a young age whilst living in New York City. By 1894 he had exhibited his private collection of drawings, watercolors and lithographs by Auguste Raffet, an illustrator in the French Army at the gallery of the Irish art dealer, Frederick Keppel in New York City. During 1896 he acquired prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige. Curtis relocated temporarily to Paris, returning to the United States. However by 1900 he had decided to settle there permanently and arranged to have his cases of prints transported to France where he set up residence in Paris. He exhibited his collection of Rembrandts at Mount Kisco, New York for 3 months during 1902. Once he relocated to Paris he continued to avidly continued to make acquisitions from French merchants, in public sales in France, England and Germany and directly from struggling artists. He continued to collect art for the next 40 years. Curtis collected during his life an extensive selection of prints, both in number (more than ten thousand works of art), representing a variety of eras, techniques and geographic origins. In order to assemble such an important collection, he often benefited from the advice of Paul Prouté (1887-1981), whose gallery was saved from the recession by the friendly and financial support of Curtis, as a major American collector of prints in the city. Archaeological artifacts He obtained many Egyptian artefacts from the Montague Ballard excavation in Giza in 1901–1902, which were subsequently bequeathed to a handful of museums in 1938. Life in Paris Curtis was an ardent supporter of many contemporary