Sir Isidore Spielmann, CMG (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

21 July 1854 – 10 May 1925) was a British civil engineer turned art connoisseur, impresario and exhibition organizer.

Early life

Isidore Spielmann was born into a Jewish family in

in 1854, the son of the banker Adam Spielmann (1812–1869), one of three brothers who had emigrated from Schokken (now

Skoki Skoki () is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 4,003 inhabitants (2010). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Skoki. History Establ ...

), near Posen (now

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, following the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. Isidore had seven siblings, several of whom died in infancy or in young adulthood, but the two surviving brothers were equally celebrated figures: Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936) was primarily concerned with education and youth-rehabilitation and was knighted in 1928, but he was also an art collector himself; Marion Spielmann (1858–1948) was the youngest and received no honours, but was a renowned art critic in his time and arguably the most influential of the three in the art world of the Edwardian era. Isidore's nephews and nieces included the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

campaigner

Eva Hubback Eva Marian Hubback (13 April 1886 – 15 July 1949) was an English feminist and an early advocate of birth control and eugenics. Early life Eva Marian Spielmann was born on 13 April 1886, daughter of Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936). Sir Meyer ...

. Isidore's own career was in civil engineering and he was awarded the CMG, before he began his second career.

Art Impresario

Spielman compiled the book, ''Royal Commission : St. Louis International Exhibition, 1904'', an account of the British exhibition at the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

, which he took part in organizing. The book was published by the Royal Commission in 1906. Sir Isidore Spielmann was awarded a knighthood in 1905. Spielmann was Britain's Commissioner for Art for the 1908

Franco-British Exhibition The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London between 14 May and 31 October 1908. It was the first in the series of the White City Exhibitions. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordial ...

Family life

Spielmann married Emily Sebag-Montefiore (1859–1929) and they had five children. Lady Spielmann was the elder, and only surviving, daughter of Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore, the son of Solomon Sebag and Sarah Montefiore; Sir Joseph's uncle was the famous Sir

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

, Bt. and on the baronet's death in 1885, the Sebag surname was altered by royal licence, in fulfillment of the legacy, initiating the new branch of the family. Lady Spielmann's last address was 56 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2. The younger of the two sons, Harold Spielmann, was killed at Gallipoli in 1915, as a 23-year old Captain in 10th Bn., the Manchester Regiment. The eldest daughter, Dora Marian Spielmann married Laurie Magnus, heir to the Magnus baronetcy, but he narrowly predeceased his father and it was their sons who continued that line; two of the daughters married a distant cousin from the Sebag-Montefiores, further bonding 'the Cousinhood'. The youngest daughter, Adelaide (1895–1961), married Lionel Cohen, Lord Cohen, the distinguished

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

from another well-known banking dynasty. He died at his home at 56 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 on 10 May 1925.'Obituary: Sir I. Spielmann: A Benefactor of British Art', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 11 May 1925, p. 8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spielmann, Isid People from London English art critics English people of Polish-Jewish descent British Jews Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London Companions_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George