Robert Woods Bliss
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Robert Woods Bliss (August 5, 1875 – April 19, 1962) was an American diplomat, art collector, philanthropist, and one of the co-founders of the
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, Mi ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...


Early life

Bliss was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 5, 1875, the son of William Henry Bliss (1844–1932), a
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
, and Anna Louisa Woods Bliss (b. 1850) and the brother of Annie Louise Bliss Warren (1878–1964). When his father remarried in 1894, he became the stepson of Anna Dorinda Blaksley Barnes Bliss (1851–1935) and the stepbrother of Cora (Kora) Fanny Barnes (1858–1911) and Mildred Barnes (1879–1969). He attended J. P. Hopkinson's Private School in Boston in 1894 and 1895, and received his
A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in 1900 from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, where he was a member of the
Owl Club The Owl Club of Cape Town, South Africa (formed in 1894), is a social meeting place for all those with an interest in the arts and sciences. The monthly meetings include an evening of fellowship, fine dining, stimulating conversation, talks by ac ...
. Bliss married Mildred in 1908.


Diplomatic career

After graduating from college, Bliss went to work in Puerto Rico, first in the office of the secretary of the U.S. civil government there, then as private secretary to the governor of Puerto Rico (1901–1903). He passed the State Department qualifying examination in 1903 and entered diplomatic
Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
. As a career diplomat and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, Bliss served as U.S. consul in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
(1903); second secretary to the U.S. embassy in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(1904–1907); secretary of the legation in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
(1907–1909); secretary of the legation in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
(1909–1912); secretary of the United States embassy in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(1912–1916); and counselor of the embassy in Paris (1916–1919). In 1908 he was a delegate to the international conference to consider revision of the arms and ammunition regulations of the
Brussels Conference Act of 1890 The Brussels Conference Act of 1890 (full title: Convention Relative to the Slave Trade and Importation into Africa of Firearms, Ammunition, and Spiritous Liquors) was a collection of anti-slavery measures signed in Brussels on 2 July 1890 (and wh ...
, and in 1918 he was temporarily assigned to serve as
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
at the U.S. legation in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Robert Bliss and his wife, Mildred, were living in Paris when
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out. They helped found the American Field Ambulance Service (later the
American Field Service AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of volunteers, professiona ...
) in France in 1914, to which they donated an entire section of 23 ambulances and three staff cars. They also opened and equipped a central depot in Paris, the "Service de Distribution Américaine," for the distribution of medical and surgical supplies and clothing. The Blisses' social circle in Paris included
Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...
,
Walter Gay Walter Gay (January 22, 1856July 13, 1937) was an American painter noted both for his genre paintings of French peasants, paintings of opulent interior scenes and was a notable art collector. Early life Walter Gay was born on January 22, 1856 i ...
, and
Royall Tyler Royall Tyler (June 18, 1757 – August 26, 1826) was an American jurist and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was ad ...
. In 1920 Bliss became chief of the Division of Western European Affairs at the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
in Washington, and was
Third Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...
(1921–1923) before becoming U.S. Envoy to Sweden (1923–1927) and
U.S. Ambassador to Argentina The United States ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Argentina. Argentina had declared its independence from Spain in 1816 and there followed a series of revolution ...
(1927–1933), after which he retired from the Foreign Service.


War service

Bliss returned to the State Department following the entry of the U.S. into
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as a consultant (1942–1943), special assistant to U.S. Secretary of State
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
(1944), and consultant to Secretary of State
Edward Stettinius Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassador ...
(1944–1945). Robert Bliss was instrumental in arranging for a series of important diplomatic meetings to take place at Dumbarton Oaks (see below) in the late summer and early fall of 1944. Known as the
Dumbarton Oaks Conference The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization, was an international conference at which proposals for the establishment of a "general international organization", w ...
, these meetings hosted delegations from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The delegates deliberated over proposals for the establishment of an organization to maintain peace and security in the world, and their outcome was the
United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
that was adopted in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
in 1945. Bliss retired a second time from government work in November 1945.


Art collecting and Dumbarton Oaks

While living in Paris (1912–1919), the Blisses had become reacquainted with Mildred Bliss's childhood friend, the American historian and art connoisseur
Royall Tyler Royall Tyler (June 18, 1757 – August 26, 1826) was an American jurist and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was ad ...
. Tyler introduced the Blisses to important Parisian art dealers and nurtured their growing interest as art collectors, especially of Byzantine and pre-Columbian artworks. Robert Bliss was particularly enamored of pre-Columbian art, stating that when Tyler introduced him to it in a Parisian shop in 1912, "the collector's microbe took root in ... very fertile soil." In 1920 the Blisses purchased their home,
Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...
. They set about renovating and enlarging the house, adding to the grounds, and building a series of terraced gardens on the 54-acre estate. The Blisses lived abroad (1923–1933) for many of the years in which this work was carried out, though they continued to supervise it closely. They also continued to build their art collection, and upon retiring in 1933 to Dumbarton Oaks they began to lay the groundwork for a museum and research institute. In 1935, Robert Bliss traveled through the highlands and tropics of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras to see Maya ruins with
Frederic C. Walcott Frederic Collin Walcott (February 19, 1869April 27, 1949) was a United States senator from Connecticut. Biography Born in New York Mills, Oneida County, New York, the son of William Stuart Walcott and Emeline Alice Welch Walcott, Walcott atten ...
(1869–1949), a trustee of the
Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
. In 1940, the Blisses cofounded the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, which they endowed and gave to
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. After giving Dumbarton Oaks to Harvard, the Blisses resided at 1537 28th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Robert Bliss's collection of pre-Columbian art, which had been exhibited at the
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
in Washington, D.C. between 1947 and 1962, was installed in 1963 at Dumbarton Oaks in a new wing designed by
Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...
.


Later life

Robert Bliss was involved with many cultural and civic organizations. He served as honorary president and trustee of the
American Federation of Arts The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a nonprofit organization that creates art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues, and develops education programs. The organization’s founding in 1909 w ...
; president of the
American Foreign Service Association American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and retir ...
; vice-chairman of the Smithsonian Art Commission; vice-chairman of the board of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
; director and first vice-president of the Washington Criminal Justice Association; member of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor Edmund J. James and drawing from members of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmo ...
; and member of the
Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Harv ...
. He was trustee of the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
, New York; trustee and executive committee member of the
Carnegie Institution The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
, Washington, D.C.; trustee of Nelson Rockefeller's Museum of Primitive Art, New York; trustee of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; and member of the Advisory Committee on Art of the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
's Division of Cultural Relations and the
Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, later known as the Office for Inter-American Affairs, was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation (Pan-Americanism) during the 1940s, especially in commercial and econ ...
. He received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
(1933);
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
(1934); and
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(1951). Robert Bliss was one of five retired diplomats who co-signed a 1954 letter protesting U.S. Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
's attacks on the Foreign Service. The Blisses had no children. Robert Woods Bliss died at the age of 86 in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 1962.


Publications

He wrote ''Indigenous Art of the Americas'' (1947; reissued as ''Pre-Columbian Art'' in 1957).


Notes


External links


Dumbarton Oaks


from Bliss Family History Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Robert Woods 1875 births 1962 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Argentina Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden American art collectors American philanthropists Harvard College alumni Mesoamerican art collectors Missouri Republicans Museum founders People from St. Louis People from Washington, D.C. United States Foreign Service personnel Washington, D.C., Republicans 20th-century American diplomats