Charlotte Bergman (; 1903–2002) was born in Antwerp and was an art collector and philanthropist.

Biography

Charlotte Bergman was born in Antwerp in 1903. She was the daughter of a Polish-born diamond merchant. Charlotte Bergman married Louis Bergman, an English architect with whom she shared a great love of travel and art. They resided in London for many years and traveled to Israel and the Middle East for the first time in the 1920s. They came into contact with many artists, including

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

and many others. They were very close to

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

, a friend who often joined the couple on their travels. The Bergmans collected examples of Dufy's art, including a portrait he painted of Charlotte. Other artists collected by the couple included

Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

and

Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

, as well as Antal Biró. Charlotte and Louis Bergman found themselves in the United States at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They never returned to live in England. Charlotte lost many members of her European family during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In New York City, the Bergmans were involved with the leading events and personalities of the day. Their apartment became a salon for music, art and politics and they became fervent supporters of the

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

and the nascent

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. After Louis Bergman died in 1955, Charlotte continued to travel and collect new works of art. She immigrated to Israel following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. Sharing

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...

's early vision for a national museum in Jerusalem, she was involved in the establishment of the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

. She also became an active, though often anonymous, supporter of other philanthropic concerns in the country. In the 1970s, Charlotte Bergman built her permanent home on the Museum grounds, with the encouragement of Teddy Kollek. Bergman located her collections of art and ethnography there. Just as she did in New York, in Jerusalem, Charlotte hosted may events and welcomed visitors from Israel and abroad to her home. On 17 July 2002 – one month before her 99th birthday – Charlotte Bergman died in her bedroom, today referred to as the Henry Moore room. The house and its paintings, sculptures, ceramics and works on paper were bequeathed to the Israel Museum. Charlotte Bergman asked that the house be used as a venue for special events, as it was in her lifetime, and that it be viewed as the home of an art lover at the end of the 20th century, in the spirit of the Israel Museum's period rooms. The legacy of Charlotte Bergman lives on in the house she built on the Israel Museum's grounds.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Charlotte 1903 births 2002 deaths Jewish art collectors Art collectors from Antwerp Belgian emigrants to Israel

Biography

See also

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External links