HELLER--Ben, 93, of New York City and Sharon, CT died peacefully in his sleep on April 24, 2019. From 1950-1970, he was president of Heller Jersey, a textile manufacturing firm. He was best known for his early pioneering of the Abstract Expressionist Art Movement, having been one of the first to befriend and champion Pollock, Rothko, Newman, de Kooning, Motherwell, Johns, and Still, among others. In the 1960s, he amassed the finest collection of these artists' works in his apartment, which Rothko referred to as "the Frick of the West Side." In Pollock's later life, his wife, Lee Krasner, referred to Heller as his "closest friend." A graduate of the Fieldston School and Bard College and a WWII Cavalry Veteran, he was president of Young Audiences, bringing classical music to students. As a resident of East Hampton, he was a founding member of the Artists & Writers softball game. In Connecticut, he served as President of the board of the Sharon Hospital. He was a loving husband to his wife Pat and beloved father to three daughters, Patti (Peter), Deedy (Ken), and Kyra (Kevin), three sons, Woody (Beth), Rob, and Nikko (Gabriela), eleven grandchildren, and five great- grandchildren. A tribute in his honor will be held at 7pm, Thursday, April 25 at MOMA. Donations may be made to the Sharon Hospital in his name.