The Portrait Gallery: Kenneth E. Behring

This 2011 bust of Kenneth E. Behring by Marc Mellon stands in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

"Kenneth (Ken) Eugene Behring (born June 13, 1928) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and former owner of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks." -- Wikipedia

Sculptor Marc Mellon discussed the making this portrait, in the National Museum of American History.

"I went online, and I found all the photographs of Mr. Behring, where he has this wonderful smile—genuine, natural smile. In the history of portrait sculpture, you don’t find a lot of big smiling sculptures where the teeth show — in part, because it wasn’t considered, in another era, the way you would do a portrait of someone you were honoring. For example, Theodore Roosevelt’s bust from yesteryear will show him with his mouth closed, whereas we think of him on the bully pulpit with his mouth open. I captured him with his mouth wide open . . . If you look closely, the teeth have gestures just like everything else, and you can get enough detailing where you don’t have to overwork it, where it’s going to read right. With this project, it turned out that Mr. Behring had also told the Smithsonian... 'I know I’m not Clark Gable. You do me as I am. I like my smile.' And he really does have a great smile." -- NMAH, June 20, 2011

Behring's generosity toward the Smithsonian is not without controversy. Archaeology, Sept. 19. 2002 wrote this article entitled "Crisis at the Smithsonian".

"Kenneth E. Behring made Smithsonian history when he donated $100 million to the institute--$20 million to the National Museum of Natural History in 1997 and $80 million to the National Museum of American History in 2000.

A rags-to-riches textbook case, Behring made his fortune selling used cars and then building condos and golf-course communities. Now 74, he owns a huge house in California, complete with a waterfall and stream, and a fleet of classic cars housed in his own museum. One also must not forget the fact that he bought the Seattle Seahawks football team and then sold it for a profit of more than $100 million. Not bad for a Wisconsin farm boy who started out in a cheese factory at 14.

A big-game hunter who is used to going on safaris and shooting lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, and even an elephant, Behring now spends most of his time delivering wheelchairs to the poor in developing countries such as Vietnam and Guatemala. 'For $150--the cost of a wheelchair--it's the difference between a person wanting to live and wanting to die,' he told the Washington Post in 2000.

His obvious generosity hasn't made him invulnerable to reproach. In late 1997, when he gave the first $20 million to the Museum of Natural History, he also offered the stuffed trophies from his hunting expeditions, including four rare, bighorn sheep, one of which was a Kara Tau argali sheep Behring had shot in Kazakhstan a few weeks before. With only about 100 left in the world, the Kara Tau argali was declared an endangered species shortly after. The Humane Society was incensed, but Behring responded that he had shot the Kara Tau argali in the company of Russian scientists who wanted to study the animals.

'I am an enthusiastic sportsman and hunter,' he said in a news release, 'and I abide by the letter and spirit of the law.'" -- Archaeology

The Behring Center, Smithsonian Museum of American History

The Hall of Military History is named for

Kenneth E. Behring

in honor of generous support.

"I have never taken the freedom I have enjoyed throughout my life for granted -- and I can think of not better tribute to my country than to honor those who have sacrificed so much in time of war. -- Kenneth E. Behring.