John Schaeffer

John Herman Schaeffer (27 May 1941 – 14 July 2020) was a Dutch-born Australian art collector, philanthropist and businessman. Schaeffer predominantly collected 19th-century British art, specialising in works by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Schaeffer emigrated to Australia from the Netherlands in the late 1950s, working as a ship's steward. Three paintings from Schaeffer's collection (all purchases) are in the permanent collection of the Leighton House Museum in Holland Park, West London. The restoration of the gilded ceiling of the Narcissus Hall at Leighton House was also supported by Schaeffer.

Schaeffer died at St Vincent's Hospital on 14 July 2020 at the age of 79 after being hit by a utility vehicle on Macquarie Street in central Sydney.

Personal life With his first wife, Kerry Robertson, Schaeffer had a daughter named Joanne, who was born in 1975. The marriage ended three years later. He was married to film-maker Julie Basford from 1994 to 2002. For the last eighteen years of his life, Schaeffer was married to Bettina Dalton, and was the stepfather of her daughters Pnina and Chana.