Ralph Harman Booth (September 29, 1873,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

– June 20, 1931,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) was a non-career appointee who served as the American Envoy Extraordinary and

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(1930–1931), appointed by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

. Booth died in office at the age of 57. His professional background was in banking and journalism, as Secretary of the ''Chicago Journal'' from 1895 to 1904, cashier and business manager (1892–1904) for the ''Detroit Tribune'', and Vice President of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, 1917–18. He began his career with the Detroit National Bank in 1888. Booth married Myrtle Mary Batterman (1879–1951) on May 23, 1906, and they had two children. Booth was an important donor to the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

and served as its president from 1917 to 1919 and then president of its governing body, the Arts Commission of the City of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, from 1919 to 1930. In the 1940s, eight paintings from the family's collection were donated to the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

David E. Finley David E. Finley (February 28, 1861 – January 26, 1917) was a United States representative from South Carolina. He was born in Trenton, Arkansas. He attended the public schools of Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Ebenezer, South Carolina and wa ...

, Director of the National Gallery of Art, proclaimed that the paintings by Italian and German artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries "are among the most important works of art in private possession in this country."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Ralph Harman 1873 births 1931 deaths 20th-century art collectors Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark American bankers American newspaper editors Associated Press people Canadian emigrants to the United States