New York ( CNN ) -- A leading philanthropist and cosmetics tycoon plans to donate 78 Cubist works to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art , a gift described by the institution as `` truly transformational . '' Leonard A. Lauder will donate 33 works by Pablo Picasso and 17 by Georges Braques , two iconic artists considered pioneers of the Cubist movement . He will also give the Met 14 pieces by Fernand Leger and 14 others by Juan Gris , according to the museum . Lauder 's collection , approved by the museum board Tuesday , was acquired over nearly four decades . The four artists were on the cusp of the radical Cubist movement in the early 1900s , a period underrepresented in the Met 's current exhibition encompassing more than 5,000 years of art history , according to museum officials . In a news release , the museum said Lauder 's collection , `` unsurpassed in the number of masterpieces and iconic works critical to the development of Cubism , '' will fill the spaces where representations of modern art had been lacking . Cubists focused on the two dimensional picture plane , attempting visual deception by combining geometric shapes to portray real objects , oft incorporating fragments of reproduced pop culture . The Cubist movement annihilated the traditional illusionism style that triumphed in years prior . It provided a gateway to abstract expression , historians say , changing the very definition of art . Forbes values the collection at $ 1.1 billion . `` This is an extraordinary gift to our museum and our city , '' Thomas P. Campbell , director of the museum , said in a news release . Campbell said the Met has `` long lacked this critical dimension in the story of modernism , '' noting that the pieces are transformational to the museum . `` Now , Cubism will be represented with some of its greatest masterpieces , demonstrating both its role as the groundbreaking movement of the 20th century and the foundation for an artistic dialogue that continues today , '' Campbell said . Lauder said he hopes his gifts will draw more people to the museum . `` This is a gift to the people who live and work in New York , and those from around the world who come to visit our great arts institutions , '' Lauder said in a news release Tuesday . Lauder has long been entwined with New York City 's art institutions , serving as president and chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art , as well as various committees at the Met since the 1980s . He said he chose the Met because `` it 's essential that Cubism -- and the art that follows it for that matter -- be seen and studied within the collections of one of the greatest encyclopedic museums in the world . '' The collection will be presented for the first time in an exhibit due to open in the fall of 2014 , according to museum officials . The highlights of the historical collection include Picasso 's provocative `` Woman in an Armchair ( Eva ) , '' ( 1913 ) , an erotic image of Picasso 's mistress Eva Gouel , according to the museum 's review . Lauder 's collection includes early works believed to have been inspired at Cubism 's inception . Braque 's `` Terrace at the Hotel Mistral , L'Estaque '' ( 1907 ) marks the icons transition from fauvism to Cubism , the museum said . Braque 's `` Trees at L'Estaque '' '' is thought to have inaugurated Cubism , officials say . Picasso 's `` The Oil Mill '' ( 1909 ) is also historic among the landmark works . It was one of the first Cubist pictures printed in Italy in the Florentine journal La Voce , according the museum 's overview of the collection . It prompted modernization from Italian futurists who sought to rival their French peers . Along with the collection , the Met announced the creation of the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art to serve as a mecca for scholars and curators studying Cubism . Lauder is the chairman emeritus of the Estee Lauder Co. and son of the late cosmetics queen by the same name .
Leonard A. Lauder will donate 33 works by Pablo Picasso . Other works will include 17 by Georges Braques . Lauder acquired his collection over nearly four decades .