Spreckels, Alma de Bretteville, 1881-1968 | |||||||||||||||||||
type | Collector Patron | ||||||||||||||||||
dates | 1881-1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
city | San Francisco | ||||||||||||||||||
state | CA | ||||||||||||||||||
sex | F | ||||||||||||||||||
history |
Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, known as “Big Alma” and “The Great Grandmother of San Francisco,” née Alma Charlotte Corday le Normand de Bretteville, was an art patron, collector, and philanthropist. In addition to being a founder of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Spreckels had a hand in the Maryhill Museum of Art (Maryhill, Washington) and the San Francisco Maritime Museum. Spreckels art collection focused on French and Ancient art and included Mycenaean, Cypriot, and Classical Greek terracottas; Egyptian faience, limestone, and bronzes; Meissen, Sevres, English, and French porcelain; work by, among others, Auguste Rodin, Jean François Colliot, Alexander Benois, and Arthur Putnam. Spreckels was married twice. Her first husband was the sugar magnate Adolph B Spreckels (1857-1924), and her second marriage to Santa Barbara rancher and businessman Elmer Awl ended in divorce in 1943. |
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decades | 1910-1920 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1950-1960 1960-1970 |
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updated | 03/22/2024 12:09:30 | ||||||||||||||||||
research links |
Search FRESCO (Frick Research Catalog Online) Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Search Wikidata Entry | ||||||||||||||||||
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