Etta Wedell Mastbaum (September 6, 1886 – November 1, 1953) was an American philanthropist, department store executive, art collector, and director of a national chain of motion picture theaters.

Biography

Born Etta Lit Wedell to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family on September 6, 1886, in Philadelphia, the daughter of Rachel Lit and Philip M. Wedell. Her mother founded the original store that became

Lit Brothers Lit Brothers was a moderately-priced department store based in Philadelphia. Samuel and Jacob Lit opened the first store at North 8th and Market Streets in 1891. Lits positioned itself well as a more affordable alternate to its upscale competitors ...

in 1891. Etta attended the Philadelphia Seminary for Women. While traveling in Europe in the 1920s, she and her husband were intrigued by sculptor Auguste Rodin which led to a lifetime of collecting his works which eventually became the 2nd largest after Rodin's personal collection. The French government permitted them to remove the works from France subject to the condition that they works are exhibited in a permanent structure open to the public. The Mastbaums built the

Jacques Gréber Jacques-Henri-Auguste Gréber (10 September 1882 – 5 June 1962) was a French architect specializing in landscape architecture and urban design. He was a strong proponent of the Beaux-Arts style and a contributor to the City Beautiful movemen ...

and

Paul Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylv ...

designed

Rodin Museum The Rodin Museum is an art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that contains one of the largest collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris. Opened in 1929, the museum is administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. T ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. After the death of her husband in 1926, Mastbaum donated the collection to the people of Philadelphia in her husband's honor. She also donated a bronze cast of Rodin's

Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' (french: La Porte de l'Enfer) is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the ''Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at ...

to France which resulted in her being decorated by the government of France. She assumed control of her husband's company Stanley Company of America and served as an executive of her family's company

. Mastbaum served as a second vice president of the Mastbaum Loan System, a not-for profit dedicated to providing financial assistance to the poor. She was also an active donor to the American Red Cross and Emergency Aid of Philadelphia.

Personal life

On January 19, 1904, Maustbaum married theatre owner

Jules Mastbaum Jules Ephraim Mastbaum (July 7, 1872 – December 8, 1926) was a Philadelphia movie theater magnate and philanthropist. He donated the Rodin Museum and its collection to the city of Philadelphia. His daughter, Peggy Solomon, was a bridge champion ...

; they had three daughters: Louisette "Billie" Mastbaum Wolf Dickson, Margery "Peggy" Mastbaum Solomon, and Elizabeth Mastbaum. Mastbaum died at the age of 67 on November 1, 1953 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. She was a member of

Congregation Mikveh Israel Congregation Mikveh Israel ( he, קהל קדוש מקוה ישראל), "Holy Community Hope of Israel", is a synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that traces its history to 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese synagogue that follow ...

in Philadelphia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastbaum, Etta Wedell 1866 births 1953 deaths Jewish American philanthropists Mastbaum family