Talk:Robin Lehman

Benin Bronzes

The situation with the Benin Bronzes has been mischaracterized and needs to be elaborated on. Lehman is taking back the objects from the Museum of Fine Arts, while the current text make it seem as though it was the museums decision to give them back to him. More information is also needed about the Benin Bronzes themselves and the discussions between the Oba, the MFA, and Lehman. See the New York Times article already cited for more detail. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/arts/design/benin-bronzes-museum-fine-arts-boston-lehman.html 173.54.160.203 (talk) 17:27, 26 April 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for raising this — you were right that the earlier wording implied the museum initiated the return. I'm the Executive Director of the Robert Owen Lehman Foundation, and I've posted a conflict-of-interest disclosure above. I've since drafted a full neutral rewrite of the article, and the revised Benin Bronzes section now makes clear that Mr. Lehman requested the return of the works as the MFA moved toward restitution, rather than the museum choosing to return them to him. The proposal is in the edit request at the bottom of this Talk page, with the complete draft linked there. I'd welcome any further corrections. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 21:43, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: neutral rewrite (COI disclosure)

Disclosure: I am the Executive Director of the Robert Owen Lehman Foundation and have a conflict of interest regarding this article (see my user page and the connected-contributor notice above). I am not editing the article directly. I have prepared a full proposed replacement text and am asking an uninvolved editor to review it and apply what they judge appropriate.

Proposed text: User:KHoneycutt1962/Robin Lehman

What this addresses. Earlier versions of this article were flagged as reading too promotionally. The proposed text is written to comply with NPOV: it removes unsourced superlatives and praise ("finest in the world", "legendary", and similar), uses the subject's surname and a plain encyclopedic structure, and drops claims I could not tie to an independent source.

Balance. The proposed text does not omit unfavorable material. It retains and expands the Benin Bronzes matter and adds the Egon Schiele restitution case, both cited to independent reliable sources. On the Benin section I have followed the point raised by 173.54.160.203 above: the revised wording makes clear that Lehman requested the return of the works as the museum moved toward restitution, rather than the museum choosing to return them to him.

Sourcing. Contested and biographical claims are cited to independent outlets, including The Art Newspaper, The Boston Globe, Apollo, ARTnews, Artnet News, Forbes, and the court's decision in the Schiele matter. A few general references (Metropolitan Museum, Morgan Library, Academy Awards database) use landing pages and could be refined. I have not used Grokipedia or any other wiki/AI-generated source.

I would be grateful for any corrections.

KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 21:38, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

 Not done There are a few issues with your version:

1. The "Early life and family" section contains no sources at all. Given that Lehman is claiming a rather refined pedigree, some verification of that would be in order.
2. The section

   His mother, Ruth "Kitty" (Leavitt) Lehman (1904–1984), was the daughter of William Homer Leavitt and Ruth Bryan Owen; through her, Lehman is a grandson of Owen, a U.S. congresswoman and diplomat, and a great-grandson of William Jennings Bryan.

   is awkwardly worded. I would recommend

   Through his mother, Lehman is the grandson of William Homer Leavitt and Ruth Bryan Owen and the great-grandson of William Jennings Bryan.

   There is no need here to pad Lehman's biography by adding that his grandmother was a congresswoman and diplomat; readers interested can link through to her biography.

3. The citation to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Robert Lehman Collection is incorrect. The correct link is .
4. Your version discards entirely the current version's Filmography section. I would recommend that this information be retained since Lehman's main claim to notability is as a filmmaker.

With these corrections, I think we can use your updated version. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 22:15, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you so much for your assistance. I have made the changes 1-3 that you outline above. With regard to #4, I believe the salient points of Mr. Lehman's film work is highlighted under the section "Film." Let me know if you think this is appropriate. Very best! KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 13:57, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Still  Not done. I've marked up your user space draft with places where better sourcing is needed. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 14:23, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

I have fixed these with better sourcing. Thank you for your assistance! KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 15:34, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Probably not my place, but you just... removed the {{fv}} tags? Why? pattersonuwu ^njz (talk) 22:02, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

Apologies, as I misunderstood what the previous editor was suggesting. I can no longer find this working page. Can you help? KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 17:17, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

What "working page"? In this diff you several {{fv}} tags, which look similar to this when reading: ^{[failed verification]} That template links to Wikipedia:Verifiability, which you should definitely read and update your sources accordingly. pattersonuwu ^njz (talk) 09:06, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Note: I've switched the edit request category from a semi to a COI, so it is properly categorized. win8x (talk) 01:21, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

Apologies for not knowing, but after our most recent correspondence on Friday, I am unable to locate all the work that you helped me with. Do you know where I can find the most recent version? I am eager to work with you/editors to finalize and publish. Please let me know your thoughts. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 14:40, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

@KHoneycutt1962: All of your work is still at User:KHoneycutt1962/Robin Lehman. You can use the "history" link at the top of the page to view all of the prior versions. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 16:48, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you! I was starting to panic as this is my first real experience with Wikipedia. With the last changes with additional sources that I made for you on Friday, is this now able to be published? ~2026-41952-28 (talk) 17:10, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

@KHoneycutt1962: No, your userspace version is still not suitable for publication. As mentioned by Pattersonuwu, in several instances, you removed the "failed verification" tags without improving the citation. A "failed verification" indicates that an editor (me, in this case) checked the citation you provided and found that the citation did not, in fact, verify the fact to which it was attached. Before you deleted them, the failed verification tags included reasons why the verification failed. Additionally, you have added citations, such as the AFI's web page for the movie Tommy which does not include any mention of Lehman's contribution to that film. Until these issues of verifiability can be resolved, your userspace version is not an improvement over the current article. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 19:44, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

My apologies. I wasn't trying to be difficult. I will go through and find better sources to cite. (And I'm assuming I can't revert to that older version.) Thanks for your patience. ~2026-42143-62 (talk) 20:22, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

@KHoneycutt1962: It is your user space page; you are free to do with it as you please, including revert it to an older version. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 21:43, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

I have added citations where requested, as well as additional reinforcement. I have also fixed where marked [failed verification]. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 13:39, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

@WikiDan61 I waited a few days for the editor's feedback, and I am now updating the page with reliable, cited sources. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 15:30, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

It has been two days, I understand you put a lot of work into your draft, but you still should not edit a page where you have a conflict of interest yourself. Please be patient and wait for review. pattersonuwu ^njz (talk) 16:37, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. This is my first time handling such details, so I have been unclear as to the timeline. I truly appreciate your help and guidance. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 16:39, 31 July 2026 (UTC)

Do you have a sense as to when an editor will review so that they can sign off on it being published? It has now been over a week. Thank you. KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 21:35, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

 Done I've retained the infobox and filmography from the prior version of the page. Since Lehman is primarily known as a cinematographer, removing his filmography seemed pointless. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 22:36, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you so very much. This has been quite a learning experience and I greatly appreciate your patience and guidance. Have a terrific evening! KHoneycutt1962 (talk) 23:17, 6 August 2026 (UTC)