Leonard Andrews

Who was Leonard Andrews?

Leonard Edward Bryant Andrews was an American publisher and art collector best known for his purchase of some 240 previously unknown Andrew Wyeth works of a woman known as Helga, including several nudes.

Andrews was born in Nacogdoches, Texas on March 31, 1925. He served as a bomber pilot during World War II, after volunteering to enlist in the United States Army at age 17. After attending Southern Methodist University, he served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, flying bombers.

He was employed by a credit card company, the Uni-Serv Corporation, during the 1962 New York City newspaper strike, and approached the company's customers about advertising in a publication he created called The New York Standard, the largest of several alternative papers published during the strike, reaching a peak circulation of more than 400,000 and appearing for 67 issues. He was later employed as an executive at a grocery store chain executive and in the underwriting department of an investment firm.

After reading about the bankruptcy of the Penn Central Transportation Company, he came up with the idea of publishing a newsletter with details about that firm's demise.