Clara Lachmann (; 10 April 1864 – 10 August 1920) was a Danish and Swedish

patron of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. After coming into immense wealth following her marriage to one of the richest men in Sweden, Lachmann became a prominent sponsor of musical events, building restorations, and new constructions. Additionally, she dedicated a significant portion of money in her will to the establishment of the Clara Lachmann Foundation, which promotes

Scandinavism Scandinavism ( da, skandinavisme; no, skandinavisme; sv, skandinavism), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. Her father was the engraver and bullet manufacturer Michael Meyer, while her mother Fromme Eichel was descended from a prominent Danish Jewish family. Raised in Copenhagen's Jewish

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

alongside seven brothers, Lachmann attended the Carolineskolen, a private Jewish girls' school. At age 19, she began attending the Draftsmanship and Industrial Design School for Women, apprenticing under the painters and J. F. Willumsen. On 6 May 1891, Lachmann married her cousin , an

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

twenty years older than her. Jacob had become extremely wealthy through the

sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate cli ...

, and was one of the richest men in Sweden at the time. The couple moved across the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

to Ystad in southern Sweden, where her husband owned a large sugar refinery. Their daughter Olga was born in 1894. In 1902, the family moved into the

Charlottenlund Castle Charlottenlund Castle ( sv, Charlottenlunds slott) is a castle in Ystad Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. Charlottenlund is located 5 miles west of Ystad. The castle was built in 1849 in Gothic Revival style, with an open courtyard with ...

, restoring it with the assistance of Willumsen and accruing a large collection of 19th-century

Nordic art Nordic art is the art made in the Nordic countries: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and associated territories. Scandinavian art refers to a subset of Nordic art and is art specific for the Scandinavian countries Denmark ...

. Lachmann and her husband became prominent members of the Jewish community in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. Lachmann enjoyed artistic endeavors, particularly music. A player of both the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and violoncello, she performed in public concerts in Ystad and hosted a series of music festivals alongside the singer . The pair also organized several chamber groups - particularly Smith's - and gathered prominent musicians from across Scandinavia, including

Wilhelm Stenhammar Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Stenhammar was born in Stockholm and was the brother of architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first musical e ...

Tor Aulin Tor Aulin (10 September 1866, Stockholm – 1 March 1914, Saltsjöbaden) was a Swedish violinist, conductor and composer. Biography Aulin studied music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (1877-1883) under Carl Johan Lindberg and ...

, and

Franz Neruda Franz Xaver Neruda (or František) (3 December 1843 – 19 March 1915) was a Czech-Danish cellist and composer of Moravian origin. Life Franz Xaver Neruda was born in Brno into a musical family. He was the fifth child of the organist of Brno ...

. For this, the ''

Dictionary of Swedish National Biography ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

'' credits Lachmann and Smith for making Ystad a center of

Scanian The term Scanian (, or ) can refer to: * A person born or living in the province of Scania proper (Skåne) * The people and language of the historical provinces of Scania (Terrae Scaniae, Skånelandene (Danish), Skåneland (Swedish) * Scanian dia ...

music. Jacob Lachmann unexpectedly died of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

in 1909, and his fortune was split between his wife and daughter. Through this newfound personal wealth, Lachmann became a prominent philanthropist and

. Among her donations, she sponsored the restoration of Greyfriars Abbey and the construction of the

Malmö Synagogue Malmö Synagogue ( sv, Malmö synagoga, ) is the only synagogue in Malmö, Sweden. It was built in 1903 and designed by the architect John Smedberg. It has an Art Nouveau and Moorish Revival design, which is one of the few synagogues in Europ ...

. Her daughter Olga died in 1919 aged 25, leaving Lachmann with her husband's full remaining fortune and no heir. She revised her will the following year, setting aside a significant portion to establish an organization dedicated to promoting

Scandinavism Scandinavism ( da, skandinavisme; no, skandinavisme; sv, skandinavism), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism, Lachmann died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

at Charlottenlund Castle on 10 August 1920. She is buried in the

Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads is a Jewish cemetery in Copenhagen. Notable interments * Victor Borge (1909–2000), US/Danish conductor, pianist, and comedian. Part of his ashes are buried here, the remainder at Putnam Cemetery, Greenwich, Conne ...

in Copenhagen alongside her husband and daughter. In 1923, the fund set aside in her will was used to establish the Clara Lachmann Foundation. Headquartered in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and under the oversight of the

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

administrative board, the foundation is led by a multinational board of directors consisting of two members from Denmark, two from Sweden, one from Norway, and (since 1990) one from Iceland. Among the organizations financially supported by the foundation are the Nordic Associations.

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