Walter Hoving (December 2, 1897 – November 27, 1989) was a Swedish-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

businessman and writer. He was the chairman of

Tiffany & Company Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, wat ...

from 1955 to 1980.

Early life

Hoving was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

on December 2, 1897. He was a son of Johannes Hoving, a surgeon, and Helga (

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 ...

Rundberg) Hoving, an opera singer. His brother was the dentist, Dr. Hannes Hoving. In 1931, his father, who planned the

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and ...

centennial memorial celebration, was decorated by King

Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

with the Royal Order of the Northern Star, 1st class, as well as the Cross of the Royal Order of the House of Vasa. In 1903, he moved to United States with his parents. He completed his school education at the Barnard School and De Witt Clinton High School in New York City. In the year 1920, Hoving received his bachelor's degree from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he was a member of the Upsilon chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Career

He started working in 1924, at R. H. Macy & Company and became vice-president at the age of 30. He studied arts at

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

for four years to enhance his knowledge of painting, textile design and furniture. In the year, 1932 he joined Montgomery Ward & Company as vice-president in charge of sales where he worked for four years. In 1936, he joined

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

, and worked as the president of the firm until 1946. Hoving founded the ''Hoving Corporation'' in 1946, which included Bonwit Teller until he sold it in 1960.''He Tries God : Walter Hoving'' ("The Overcomers". Russell Chandler, author. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1978)
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Tiffany & Company

Hoving bought a controlling share of Tiffany & Co. in 1955, at that time company's performance appeared to be gradually declining with around $7 million worth of business a year. Under his supervision, company's sales grew up to $100 million by the year 1980. He hired Van Day Truex, a design director and allowed him to design freely without worrying about selling it. He also hired famous designers like Jean Schlumberger,

Elsa Peretti Elsa Peretti, OMRI OMM (1 May 1940 – 18 March 2021), was an Italian jewelry designer and philanthropist as well as a fashion model. Her jewelry and design pieces for Tiffany & Co. are included in the 20th century collection of the British M ...

, and Gene Moore. Moore went on to design Tiffany's famous Fifth Avenue windows. Hoving maintained standards at Tiffany & Co. by refusing to sell diamond rings to men, nothing silver plated and no account charged for customers who had been impolite towards the salespeople.

Sales to John F. Kennedy

Hoving made two sales to President John F. Kennedy. Once in 1960, Hoving met then President-elect, after store hours, and assisted him in selecting a brooch by Jean Schlumberger with rubies and diamonds for

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A p ...

. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

displayed the brooch in the exhibition ''Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years.'' Kennedy contacted Hoving again in 1962 and requested thirty two Lucite calendar mementos for his assistants who helped him during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. Hoving's responded with the gist that they don't sell plastic. However, Tiffany's provided mementos to Kennedy made of silver.

Later years

Avon Products, Inc. acquired Tiffany & Company in 1979. Hoving resigned following year and started his own consulting firm that specialized in retail design and management and started work on his memoirs that were never published. He also focused his efforts on his philanthropic activities and stayed at his home in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. He contacted David Mitchell then Chairman of Avon offering to purchase back Tiffany & Company, but his offers were never seriously entertained. Henry B. Platt took over Tiffany & Company as the chairman after Hoving's resignation but was fired five months later on the grounds of incompetency. In an interview for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Angela Cummings stated: ''At Tiffany's I met Walter Hoving,'' she recalled, ''and he looked at the little portfolio I had and said, You want to work for us, go ahead and try. It was like a threat, but at the time I didn't even know who he was''.

Personal life

In 1924, Hoving married Mary Osgood Field (1901–1955), the daughter of Thomas Pearsall Field and Emma Beadleston. Mary was a direct descendant of

Samuel Osgood Samuel Osgood (February 3, 1747 – August 12, 1813) was an American merchant and statesman born in Andover, Massachusetts, currently a part of North Andover, Massachusetts. His family home still stands at 440 Osgood Street in North Andover ...

, the first Postmaster General of the United States. Before their divorce in 1936, they were the parents of: * Petrea Field Hoving (1928–2016), who married Harry "Buddy" Durand in 1954. * Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving (1931–2009), who served as the director of the

from 1967 to 1977. In 1937, he became the fourth husband of the former Pauline Vandervoort (1889–1976). Her first husband, John Steese, had died; her second husband, Carl Kirsch Dresser, divorced in 1927; and her third husband, Col. Henry Huddleston Rogers Jr. (a son of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

millionaire Henry Huddleston Rogers), whom she married in 1933, died in

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in 1935. After a long illness, Pauline died in 1976. He married former singer Jane Pickens Langley (1907–1992) in 1977, and their marriage lasted until his death. Langley owned the designed by

Ogden Codman Ogden Codman Jr. (January 19, 1863 – January 8, 1951) was an American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of '' The Decoration of Houses'' (1897), which became a standard in American inte ...

Berkley Villa on

Bellevue Avenue The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer vacat ...

. He died at Newport Hospital in Newport at the age of 91 on November 27, 1989. He was survived by a son, daughter, and four grandchildren, John Hoving, Samuel Osgood Hoving, Thomas Durand and Petrea Hoving.

Philanthropy and legacy

Hoving was also the founder of ''Walter Hoving Home'', a rehabilitation center for women with drug addiction and alcoholism. He was a co-founder of

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

Association of New York, and gave his time to the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universitie ...

and the United Service Organizations, USO.

Books

* ''Tiffany's Table Manners for Teen-agers'' (Random House, 1960) * ''Your Career in Business'' (Tiffany & Co., 1978)

References

External links

Walter Hoving Home Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoving, Walter 1897 births 1989 deaths American retail chief executives American Salvationists Swedish Salvationists Brown University alumni Swedish emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Stockholm Tiffany & Co. DeWitt Clinton High School alumni 20th-century Methodists