Saidie May, Pioneer of Early Twentieth Century Art Collecting
Saidie May, Pioneer of Early Twentieth Century Art Collecting is a part of the large quilt that is the story of the American dream. It follows a German immigrant’s rise to great wealth during the Industrial Revolution and then how his children gave back to the country which gave their father a new life and freedom.
This story reveals how the role of the American female evolved during the early twentieth century from one of domesticity and servitude to leadership and philanthropy.
It exposes the experiences of another American expatriate living in Paris during the late 1920’s through the beginnings of World War II and the Nazi occupation of that city.
Woven in are stores of a few Jewish families who were freed from Germany and France, and able to get to America where they continued to live out their lives and passions, aided by Saidie May and her sister, Blanche Adler. Two of these, well-respected artists in Europe would become major influences on the American Abstract Art movement of the 1950’s and 60’s.
It also relates the story of a German Jewish art dealer who did not leave France, but managed to survive by hiding in the countryside for years while telling his fascinating story through correspondence to Mrs. May.
This book is an account of two artistic visionaries who believed in public education in America and sought to collect the best antiquities and avante-garde art for American museums to use for the education of the American public.