Victor J. Hammer (November 1, 1901 – July 21, 1985) was a businessman, founder and owner of

Hammer Galleries Victor J. Hammer (November 1, 1901 – July 21, 1985) was a businessman, founder and owner of Hammer Galleries in New York City, and philanthropist. Early life and education Hammer was born in New York City, to Ukrainian Jews, Ukrainian-born ...

in New York City, and philanthropist.

Early life and education

Hammer was born in New York City, to Ukrainian-born Jewish immigrants, Julius and Rose (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Lipshitz) Hammer. His father came to the United States from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(today

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) in 1875, and settled in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, where he ran a general medical practice and five drugstores. Victor Hammer attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he graduated in 1921 with a degree in art history. His older brother was businessman

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American business manager and owner, most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran from 1957 until his death. Called "Lenin's chosen capitalist" by the press, ...

Career

He was business partner of his brother Armand on several business ventures, including Hammer Galleries in New York City, founded in 1928 as a way to funnel profits made in Soviet Russia out of that country. At one point,

British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and do ...

believed Hammer Galleries was a front for

Soviet Intelligence This is a list of historical secret police organizations. In most cases they are no longer current because the regime that ran them was overthrown or changed, or they changed their names. Few still exist under the same name as legitimate police fo ...

. The Hammer brothers had been in contact with Soviet authorities for a number of reasons, such as famine relief, as well as when the Soviets sought a buyer for the treasures of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

as a way to earn hard currency. Victor was responsible for acquisitions for Hammer Galleries, including the so-called Romanov Treasures and Fabergé eggs. In 1937, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' described Victor and Armand as "Two of the most startling characters in the U.S. art world are the Brothers Armand and Victor Hammer, one with a medical degree, both friends of Soviet Russia." According to Fabergé expert Geza von Habsburg, Victor stated that Stalin's trade commissar

Anastas Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; russian: Анаста́с Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան; 25 November 1895 – 21 October 1978) was an Armenian Communist revolutionary, Old Bolshevik an ...

provided Fabergé hallmarking tools to his brother Armand to sell fakes. Victor stated a 1938 New York sale he ran with Armand, which grossed several million dollars, consisted of both genuine and faked items (called

Fauxbergé Fauxbergé (Russian: фальшберже) is a term coined to generally describe items that are faking a higher quality or status and in specific terms relates to the House of Fabergé (Russian: Дом Фаберже), which was a Russian jeweller ...

by Habsburg), with commissions going back to Mikoyan.

Philanthropy

Hammer was a philanthropist. Alongside his brothers Harry and Armand, he purchased the Roosevelt estate on

Campobello Island Campobello Island (, also ) is the largest and only inhabited island in Campobello, a civil parish in southwestern New Brunswick, Canada, near the border with Maine, United States. The island's permanent population in 2021 was 949. It is the si ...

in New Brunswick and donated it to the United States and Canada as the countries' first joint park, known as

Roosevelt Campobello International Park Roosevelt Campobello International Park preserves the house and surrounding landscape of the summer retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and their family. It is located on the southern tip of Campobello Island in the Canadian provi ...

Personal life

Hammer's first wife, Barbara, was a performer of gypsy romances. In 1927, their son Armand was born. They divorced in 1928. Hammer's second wife was

Ireene Wicker Ireene Wicker (born Irene Seaton, November 24, 1905 – November 17, 1987) was an American singer and actress, best known to young radio listeners in the 1930s and 1940s as “The Singing Lady”, which was the title of her radio program. She a ...

; they had a daughter: Nancy Hammer Eilan.Los Angeles Times: "Art Dealer Victor J. Hammer, Armand's Brother, Dies"
July 24, 1985

References

External links

Hammer Galleries, New York City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammer, Victor 1901 births 1985 deaths Jewish American philanthropists Businesspeople from New York City Princeton University alumni American art dealers

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Philanthropists from New York (state) 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews