Barbara Piasecka Johnson
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Barbara "Basia" Piasecka Johnson (born Barbara Piasecka; February 25, 1937 – April 1, 2013) was a Polish
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...
,
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, art
connoisseur A connoisseur (French language, French Reforms of French orthography, traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge ...
and collector.


Early life

Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near
Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
(now in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
). Her father was a farmer. She graduated from Wroclaw University with a M.A. in Art History. She left Poland in 1968, with $100 in her possession.


Career

Piasecka was hired as a cook by Esther Underwood Johnson, then wife of John Seward Johnson I. She then worked as the Johnsons'
chambermaid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...
. One time seeing his admiration for one of the paintings he had bought, she said casually that he overpaid for it because it is not a picture of a master, but his disciple and by using the dates proved it. Johnson was shocked about her knowledge and expertise, and appointed her as consultant to his purchases of works of art. A year after she became Johnson's chambermaid, she became his
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
for the Seward Johnson's art collection.


Personal life

During this time John Seward Johnson engaged in extramarital affairs with Piasecka Johnson. In 1971, he had divorced his second wife, Esther "Essie" Underwood Johnson, (who had hired Piasecka), and they married. He was 76 and she was 34. None of Johnson's children were invited to the wedding. Trial witnesses brought to court by J. S. Johnson's children during the proceedings concerning his will asserted that Piasecka Johnson "often physically and emotionally abused her husband". Piasecka Johnson said she was a devoted wife for 12 years of marriage. She was the primary beneficiary of his will and received the bulk of her husband's fortune of $400 million after he died in 1983 ($ as of ). Excluded from their father's will, Seward Johnson's six children sued on grounds that their father was not mentally competent at the time he signed the will. The case went to trial but was settled prior to return of a verdict, and the children were granted about 12% of the fortune, leaving Piasecka Johnson in control of the majority of the estate. In 2007, Johnson was listed on the
Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...
World's Richest People list with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, making her the 149th richest person. She converted the family estate in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, named Jasna Polana, into a golf course that is part of the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
-owned Tournament Players Club franchise. Johnson was involved in a number of charitable projects, especially in Poland, through the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation which she established in 1974. Johnson founded a school in
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
for
autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
children, and donated to the church in Poland, and welfare centres. Johnson had homes in Italy and Poland, and lived the last years of her life in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
. Johnson died in her native Poland in
Sobótka Sobótka (pronounced , ) is a town in Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Sobótka. It lies approximately southwest of Wrocław on the northern ...
, and was buried in
Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
. Paintings from Piasecka Johnson's art collection were displayed in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
's Museum of the Chapel of Visitation from 1995 to 2014. Her collection was removed from the chapel in May 2014 in preparation for its eventual sale at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
auction house in July 2014.


See also

* ''Johnson v. Johnson'' (1988, ) * ''Undue Influence: The Epic Battle for the Johnson & Johnson Fortune'' (1993, )


References


External links


Barbara Piasecka Johnson dead; Huffington PostObituaryBarbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation
In Polish {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Barbara Piasecka 1937 births 2013 deaths Polish art collectors American art collectors Women art collectors Polish billionaires American billionaires American women philanthropists American expatriates in Monaco Female billionaires Polish emigrants to the United States Polish philanthropists Barbara University of Wrocław alumni People from Byerastavitsa district