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agogue!' Albert M. Sack, well-known authority on American furniture, referred to Mrs. Schwartz's efforts at Touro Synagogue in a recent letter to her husband: "The loss to the antiques world is immeasurable as few people of her range and energy are on the scene. I remember when she took the chandeliers home from the Touro Synagogue and cleaned them herself as she trusted no one else to do them properly': In 1958, Mrs. Schwartz was elected a Trustee of the Passaic County Historical Society. She especially valued this affiliation as it afforded her the opportunity to research and preserve for future generations the County's heritage — Passaic County was the place of her birth and lifelong residence. Esther later became an Honorary Life Trustee of the Society and was cited for her "boundless energy, enthusiastic interest and knowledge of American antiques'? Mrs. Schwartz became a founding member of the Friends of the American Wing and the William Cullen Bryant Fellows of the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1960. Two years later, she was named Chairperson of the Friends Committee and appointed a Fellow in Perpetuity of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She and Mr. Schwartz donated many priceless objects from their collection to the American Wing. Frances Safford, Associate Curator of the Department of American Decorative Arts, echoed the sentiments of numerous members ofthe American Wing when she wrote, "Esther was such an outstanding person. Her acumen and wide-ranging interests as a collector were highly respected by all. I always admired her willingness to venture into little known areas of collecting and her determinaFall 1989
tion to not leave one stone unturned in her research:' Morrison H. Heckscher, Curator of the Department, has called Mrs. Schwartz"one of the great collector-scholars'.' Among other important associations, Mrs. Schwartz was a Trustee ofthe New Jersey Historical Society and served as Chairperson of the Museum Committee from 1965 through 1970. In 1973, she became a Founding Trustee of Friends of American Arts at Yale University. Mrs. Schwartz served as a Founding Trustee of the National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, and was the first woman to be elected an officer of the American Jewish Historical Society. The International Garden Club, an organization dedicated to the restoration of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Garden in Pelham Bay Park, New York, also included her among its honorary members. As attested by her other accomplishments, Mrs. Schwartz believed in preserving the best of America's past. Alarmed that a colonial home in Waltham, Massachusetts, could not be preserved in situ, Esther arranged for it to be dismantled board by board and transported to the American Museum in Bath, England. She was also a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, Inc. of Connecticut, the Bergen County Historical Society, and the English Ceramic Circle. Mrs. Schwartz wrote numerous articles on restoration and antiques for scholarly publications, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, and The Magazine Antiques, among others. A portrait of Esther Schwartz would not be complete without reference to the home she shared for over 52 years
with her husband. Samuel, in Paterson, New Jersey. Recently, as he escorted a visitor through the house, Mr. Schwartz spoke fondly of the memories associated with each painting, drawing, watercolor, rug, or article of furniture silver or glassware, recalling the delight his late wife took in acquiring, researching and living with their collection. Regarding their library, whose shelves are impressively full, Mr. Schwartz proudly noted that"Some people collect books, but Esther knew what was in them!" The Museum of American Folk Art curatorial department has been given her full set of The Magazine Antiques as well as many books relating to subjects of American folk art, paintings and furniture. The Museum is grateful for this act of generosity. Throughout the years, Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz were ardent supporters of the Museum. Samuel Schwartz, continuing in this tradition, has generously made it possible for the Museum, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania German Society and Hudson Hills Press to publish a facsimile of a late eighteenthcentury religious text from Pennsylvania, hand-illustrated and illuminated by Ludwig Denig. When Mrs. Schwartz first found this Bible and added it to her collection she was told it was European in origin. However, she was able to prove through her research that the paper was colonial in origin and the text and illuminations the work of an eighteenth-century Lancaster County farmer. For all their many kindnesses, the Museum family owes a debt of gratitude to the late Esther Ipp Schwartz and her husband, Samuel Schwartz. They have done much to foster, promote and increase the public's knowledge and appreciation of the American heritage. 83