Allan Stone, 74, art patron, expert

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Allan Stone, who used his Manhattan gallery, his obsessive collecting, and his exuberant personality to encourage emerging artists while becoming an expert in Abstract Expressionism -- died Dec. 15 at his home in Purchase, said his daughter, Jeremy. He was 74.

A graduate of Harvard College and Boston University Law School, Mr. Stone was a practicing lawyer in his late 20s when he decided to switch careers and open a gallery. He had bought a Willem de Kooning drawing for $250 while at Harvard, which prompted his father to cut off funds for a while.

In a soon-to-be-released documentary film by his daughter Olympia, Mr. Stone says of the art business, "I couldn't say that I intellectually decided to go into it. I sort of got sucked into it, sort of the way a junkie gets sucked into a heroin parlor."

He championed many artists who became famous -- including de Kooning, Barnett Newman, and Joseph Cornell -- and was among the first to show Richard Estes and Wayne Thiebaud.