Louise Crane
Encyclopedia
Louise Crane a prominent American philanthropist. Crane was a friend to some of New York’s leading literary figures, including Tennessee Williams
and Marianne Moore
.
Crane's father was Winthrop Murray Crane, an American millionaire and former governor of Massachusetts. Her mother was MoMA
founder Josephine Porter Boardman
. Louise smoothly moved into the role of patron of the arts. She was a prominent supporter of jazz and orchestral music, initiating a series of "coffee concerts" at MoMA and commissioning a vocal and orchestral work by Lukas Foss
. She even worked representing musicians, including Mary Lou Williams
.
Crane met Elizabeth Bishop
while classmates together at Vassar
in 1930. The pair traveled extensively in Europe and bought a house together in 1937 in Key West, Florida
. While Bishop lived in Key West, Crane occasionally returned to New York. Crane developed a passionate interest with Billie Holiday
in 1941.
Crane published Ibérica, a Spanish language review with her companion, Victoria Kent
, from 1954 to 1974. Ibérica featured news for Spanish people exiled in the United States. Kent was a prominent member of the Spanish Republican party, opposed to Franco. Many prominent writers, including Salvador Madariaga, contributed to Ibérica. Louise Crane and her mother were sponsors of Virgil Thomson's opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, among other works.
Crane was the executor of Marianne Moore's
estate after her death in 1972.
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
and Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore was an American Modernist poet and writer noted for her irony and wit.- Life :Moore was born in Kirkwood, Missouri, in the manse of the Presbyterian church where her maternal grandfather, John Riddle Warner, served as pastor. She was the daughter of mechanical engineer and inventor...
.
Crane's father was Winthrop Murray Crane, an American millionaire and former governor of Massachusetts. Her mother was MoMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
founder Josephine Porter Boardman
Josephine Porter Boardman
Josephine Porter Boardman Crane was an American socialite and patron of the arts.-Personal life:Boardman was from a well-to-do family. Her father, William Jarvis Boardman , a lawyer and active in politics, was the grandson of the Senator Elijah Boardman...
. Louise smoothly moved into the role of patron of the arts. She was a prominent supporter of jazz and orchestral music, initiating a series of "coffee concerts" at MoMA and commissioning a vocal and orchestral work by Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
. She even worked representing musicians, including Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
.
Crane met Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
while classmates together at Vassar
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in 1930. The pair traveled extensively in Europe and bought a house together in 1937 in Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
. While Bishop lived in Key West, Crane occasionally returned to New York. Crane developed a passionate interest with Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
in 1941.
Crane published Ibérica, a Spanish language review with her companion, Victoria Kent
Victoria Kent
Victoria Kent was a Spanish lawyer and republican politician.Born in Málaga, she was affiliated to the Radical Socialist Republican Party and came to fame in 1930 for defending - at a court martial - Álvaro de Albornoz, who would shortly afterwards go on to become minister of justice and later the...
, from 1954 to 1974. Ibérica featured news for Spanish people exiled in the United States. Kent was a prominent member of the Spanish Republican party, opposed to Franco. Many prominent writers, including Salvador Madariaga, contributed to Ibérica. Louise Crane and her mother were sponsors of Virgil Thomson's opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, among other works.
Crane was the executor of Marianne Moore's
Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore was an American Modernist poet and writer noted for her irony and wit.- Life :Moore was born in Kirkwood, Missouri, in the manse of the Presbyterian church where her maternal grandfather, John Riddle Warner, served as pastor. She was the daughter of mechanical engineer and inventor...
estate after her death in 1972.