Florence Meyer Blumenthal
Encyclopedia
Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) was a philanthropist who founded the Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation), which awarded the Prix Blumenthal
from 1919-1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians — to promote Franco- American relations.
For their altruism, Florence Blumenthal and her husband George Blumenthal received the French Legion of Honor
in 1929. Both a street as well as a public square in Paris are named in her honor.
In 1925, Blumenthal moved to Paris with her husband, later donating to the Children’s Hospital in Paris
the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York, the Sorbonne
in Paris. She and her husband received the French Legion of Honor in 1929, and Blumenthal died of bronchial pneumonia at her home in Paris on September 21, 1930, at age fifty-five.
Washington Post editor Katharine Graham
described her aunt, known within the family as Florie, as having a perfect figure and for "bringing home massive amounts of clothing from Paris." Blumenthal was also related to the Levi Strauss
family through her older sisters, Rosalie and Elise, each of whom had married a nephew of Strauss'.
The Blumenthals summered in France or on yachts in the Mediterranean and were noted for their residences, Knollwood Club
in the Adirondacks, their mansion in New York
(half a city block and had an indoor tiled swimming pool) as well as their mansion in Paris, for which an entire wing was built to house a new organ.
In 1907, she and her husband were injured in an automobile accident in Paris, where George Blumenthal received a bad cut on his face. The Blumenthals had one son, who died at an early age.
In 2010 (May 14-June 5), the Médiathèque of Haguenau
hosted an exhibit of the Florence Blumenthal archives.
, New York, where he donated $2mil and where the Blumenthal auditorium is named after him. He was a trustee of the Museum of Art for many years as well as president of the American Hospital of Paris
. He served as the seventh president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
from 1934 until his death in 1941, where he gave $1mil and where he funded the colonnaded Spanish Renaissance patio. He retired from Lazard in 1901, giving up his seat on the stock exchange, and returned as a partner in 1906. He returned to the stock exchange in 1916, purchasing a seat for $63,000. With J. P. Morgan
the elder, he was one of five bankers who saved Grover Cleveland
from giving up specie payments
in 1896, with their $65,000,000 gold loans.
His niece, Katherine Graham, in her memoir Personal History
, described her uncle as a "difficult man with a big ego." He and Florence also named the Blumenthal Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which contains rare and illustrated books, manuscripts, Haggadot, as a resource for scholarly research.
After the death of Florence Blumenthal, George Blumenthal married Mrs. Mary (Marion) Clews, the former Miss Mary Ann Payne of New York, and widow of James Clews, banker — in December 1935 at age 77. The two later endowed the George and Marion Blumenthal Research Scholarships awarded annually for demonstrated merit in community arts leadership by the Roski School of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California.
awarded through the Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation), which Florence Blumenthal had founded. Grants were given from 1919-1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.
Juries including Paul Signac
and Aristide Maillol
, awarded a Prix Blumenthal
purse
of six thousand francs per year for two years. This was increased from 1926 until her death in 1930 to ten thousand francs a year.
From 1919 to 1954 nearly two hundred artists received grants, including in 1921 Georges Migot
(1891–1976), composer, painter, and a carver; in 1926 Paul Belmondo
, sculptor; also in 1926 Paule Marrot
, textile artist; in 1930 Robert Couturier, sculptor; in 1934 Jean Oberlé
, painter and in 1941 Jean Follain
, author and poet.
received the stipend in 1928, which allowed Marrot to open her workshop in Batignolles
on rue Truffaut — where she became widely known for furniture textiles. Marrot went on to experience strong popularity and commercial success in the U.S. after World War II, made a strong impact at Renault in pioneering the company's textile and color division, and redefined furnishing fabrics in France
. In 1952 Marrot won in 1952, the French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor)
, (Chevalier) — and her textiles continue under license to diverse companies including Nike
, Anthropologie
and the handbag maker, Hayden-Harnett
.
Prix Blumenthal
The Prix Blumenthal was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal — and the foundation she created, Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal — to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States...
from 1919-1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians — to promote Franco- American relations.
For their altruism, Florence Blumenthal and her husband George Blumenthal received the French Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1929. Both a street as well as a public square in Paris are named in her honor.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles in 1875 to Eugene and Harriet (Newmark) Meyer, she was the third of eight children. Her younger brother Eugene Meyer Jr. became the president and publisher of the Washington Post (and was the father of Katherine Graham, editor of the Washington Post during Watergate). In 1898, Florence Blumenthal married international financier George Blumenthal. In 1919, she organized the La Fondation américaine Blumenthal pour la pensée et l’art français (American Foundation for French Art and Thought) in Paris to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States and France closer together through art, thought, and literature.In 1925, Blumenthal moved to Paris with her husband, later donating to the Children’s Hospital in Paris
Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital
The Hôpital Necker – Enfants Malades is a French teaching hospital, located in Paris, France. It is an hospital of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris group, and is affiliated to the University of Paris Descartes...
the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York, the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris. She and her husband received the French Legion of Honor in 1929, and Blumenthal died of bronchial pneumonia at her home in Paris on September 21, 1930, at age fifty-five.
Washington Post editor Katharine Graham
Katharine Graham
Katharine Meyer Graham was an American publisher. She led her family's newspaper, The Washington Post, for more than two decades, overseeing its most famous period, the Watergate coverage that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon...
described her aunt, known within the family as Florie, as having a perfect figure and for "bringing home massive amounts of clothing from Paris." Blumenthal was also related to the Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.-Origins:...
family through her older sisters, Rosalie and Elise, each of whom had married a nephew of Strauss'.
The Blumenthals summered in France or on yachts in the Mediterranean and were noted for their residences, Knollwood Club
Knollwood Club
Knollwood Club is an Adirondack Great Camp on Shingle Bay, Lower Saranac Lake, near the village of Saranac Lake, New York. It was built in 1899–1900 by William L. Coulter, who had previously created a major addition to Alfred G. Vanderbilt's Sagamore Camp...
in the Adirondacks, their mansion in New York
George Blumenthal House
The George Blumenthal House was a mansion located on 50 East 70th Street in New York City. It was constructed for George Blumenthal....
(half a city block and had an indoor tiled swimming pool) as well as their mansion in Paris, for which an entire wing was built to house a new organ.
In 1907, she and her husband were injured in an automobile accident in Paris, where George Blumenthal received a bad cut on his face. The Blumenthals had one son, who died at an early age.
In 2010 (May 14-June 5), the Médiathèque of Haguenau
Haguenau
-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
hosted an exhibit of the Florence Blumenthal archives.
George Blumenthal
Born in Frankfurt am Main, George Blumenthal a foreign-exchange banker who had been sent to the United States by Speyer & Co., rose to prominence as the head of the U.S branch of Lazard Frères and was a partner of Lazard Frères in France. Blumenthal was president of the Mount Sinai HospitalMount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital may refer to:*Mount Sinai Hospital, New York*Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto*Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute, Miami, Florida*Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland*Mount Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee...
, New York, where he donated $2mil and where the Blumenthal auditorium is named after him. He was a trustee of the Museum of Art for many years as well as president of the American Hospital of Paris
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris, founded in 1906, located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a private, not-for-profit institution that is considered agréé/non-conventionné under the French system of healthcare. It has 187 surgical, medical, and obstetric beds....
. He served as the seventh president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
from 1934 until his death in 1941, where he gave $1mil and where he funded the colonnaded Spanish Renaissance patio. He retired from Lazard in 1901, giving up his seat on the stock exchange, and returned as a partner in 1906. He returned to the stock exchange in 1916, purchasing a seat for $63,000. With J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
the elder, he was one of five bankers who saved Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
from giving up specie payments
Hard money (policy)
Hard money policies are those which are opposed to fiat currency and thus in support of a specie standard, usually gold or silver, typically implemented with representative money....
in 1896, with their $65,000,000 gold loans.
His niece, Katherine Graham, in her memoir Personal History
Personal History
Personal History is the autobiography of Katharine Graham. It was published in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1998...
, described her uncle as a "difficult man with a big ego." He and Florence also named the Blumenthal Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which contains rare and illustrated books, manuscripts, Haggadot, as a resource for scholarly research.
After the death of Florence Blumenthal, George Blumenthal married Mrs. Mary (Marion) Clews, the former Miss Mary Ann Payne of New York, and widow of James Clews, banker — in December 1935 at age 77. The two later endowed the George and Marion Blumenthal Research Scholarships awarded annually for demonstrated merit in community arts leadership by the Roski School of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California.
Prix Blumenthal
The Prix Blumenthal (or Blumenthal Prize) was a grant or stipendStipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
awarded through the Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation), which Florence Blumenthal had founded. Grants were given from 1919-1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.
Juries including Paul Signac
Paul Signac
Paul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
and Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a French Catalan sculptor and painter.-Biography:...
, awarded a Prix Blumenthal
Prix Blumenthal
The Prix Blumenthal was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal — and the foundation she created, Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal — to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States...
purse
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
of six thousand francs per year for two years. This was increased from 1926 until her death in 1930 to ten thousand francs a year.
From 1919 to 1954 nearly two hundred artists received grants, including in 1921 Georges Migot
Georges Migot
Georges Migot was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter...
(1891–1976), composer, painter, and a carver; in 1926 Paul Belmondo
Paul Belmondo (sculptor)
Paul Belmondo was a French sculptor. He is the father of the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.-Biography :...
, sculptor; also in 1926 Paule Marrot
Paule Marrot
Paule Marrot was a Parisian textile designer widely known for her textile prints with a flat, two-dimensional, upbeat style — often with a floral pattern. She experienced strong popularity in the U.S...
, textile artist; in 1930 Robert Couturier, sculptor; in 1934 Jean Oberlé
Jean Oberlé
Jean Oberlé was a French painter who became a member of the French Resistance.Born in Brest in 1900, he illustrated a number of contemporary books and worked for different Parisian newspapers and magazines, of which le Crapouillot was the most important.He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1934.In 1940,...
, painter and in 1941 Jean Follain
Jean Follain
Jean Follain, was a French author, poet and corporate lawyer. In the early days of his career he was a member of the "Sagesse" group. Follain was a friend of Max Jacob, André Salmon, Jean Paulhan, Pierre Pussy, Armen Lubin, and Pierre Reverdy...
, author and poet.
Impact of the Prix
As an example of the impact of the Prix Blumenthal, textile artist Paule MarrotPaule Marrot
Paule Marrot was a Parisian textile designer widely known for her textile prints with a flat, two-dimensional, upbeat style — often with a floral pattern. She experienced strong popularity in the U.S...
received the stipend in 1928, which allowed Marrot to open her workshop in Batignolles
Batignolles
Batignolles is a neighborhood of Paris, a part of the 17th arrondissement of the city. The neighborhood is bounded on the south by the Boulevard des Batignolles, on the east by the Avenue de Clichy, on the north by the Rue Cardinet, and on the west by the Rue de Rome.-History:Batignolles was an...
on rue Truffaut — where she became widely known for furniture textiles. Marrot went on to experience strong popularity and commercial success in the U.S. after World War II, made a strong impact at Renault in pioneering the company's textile and color division, and redefined furnishing fabrics in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1952 Marrot won in 1952, the French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor)
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, (Chevalier) — and her textiles continue under license to diverse companies including Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Anthropologie
Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....
and the handbag maker, Hayden-Harnett
Hayden-Harnett
Hayden-Harnett is a Brooklyn-based fashion company that produces handbags, accessories, and apparel, founded by Toni Hacker and Benjamin Harnett in 2005. Hayden-Harnett was recently chosen by Target Corporation to design a limited edition national diffusion collection for spring 2009 delivery at...
.
