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Florence Meyer

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This article is about the American photographer born in 1911; for the American philanthropist born in 1875, see Florence Meyer Blumenthal.
Florence Meyer Homolka
Photo of Meyer by Man Ray
Born
Florence Meyer

(1911-01-22)January 22, 1911
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 1962(1962-11-27) (aged 51)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Portrait photographer and socialite
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1939; div. 1948)​
Children2
Parents
RelativesKatharine Graham (sister)
Marc Eugene Meyer (grandfather)
Joseph Newmark (great-grandfather)

Florence Meyer Homolka (January 22, 1911 – November 27, 1962) was an American portrait photographer and socialite. She was married to the actor Oscar Homolka.

Early life and education

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She was born in New York City, the eldest daughter of Eugene Meyer (1875–1959), future publisher of the Washington Post, and Agnes Elizabeth (Ernst) Meyer (1887–1970).[1] Along with her four siblings, she was baptized as a Lutheran but attended an Episcopal church.[2]

She attended the Madeira School[3] and Bryn Mawr College,[1] graduated from Radcliffe College.[4]

Photography

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Meyer photographed numerous artists, playwrights, actors, writers, composers, musicians, statesmen, film stars, and other celebrities of her day. Her work included portraits of Van Cliburn,[5] James Agee, Thomas Mann, Constantin Brâncuși, Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Vladimir Horowitz, Lion Feuchtwanger, Arnold Schoenberg, Christopher Isherwood and of fellow photographers Edward Steichen, Walker Evans, and Brassaï.[6]

Meyer was a close friend and protégée of Man Ray, and in 1946 took the photographs for the double wedding portraits of Man Ray and Juliet Browner, and Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning.[7] Meyer exhibited her photographs at the Palos Verdes Art Gallery in 1950[8] and at Los Angeles City Hall in 1952.[9]

Meyer played the Juggler and the Priestess of the Golden Calf in the original Broadway cast of Kurt Weill's The Eternal Road (1937).[4] She was the author of Focus on Art, published posthumously in 1962, with a foreword by Aldous Huxley.[10]

Personal life

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In 1939, Meyer married the widowed Austrian character actor Oscar Homolka (1898–1978).[4][11] They had two sons, Vincent and Laurence. They divorced in 1946,[12] but the financial details of the divorce were contested as late as 1952.[13] She died from a respiratory attack in Santa Monica in 1962, at the age of 51.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Florence Meyer is Debutante". The San Francisco Examiner. January 2, 1929. p. 16. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Zweigenhaft, Richard L. and G. William Domhoff The New CEOs : Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies Published: March 18, 2014 |Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
  3. ^ "Wedding in Mt. Kisco for Florence Meyer; Publisher's Daughter Is Bride of Oscar Homolka, Actor". The New York Times. August 22, 1939. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Florence Meyer Married to Actor at Parents' Home". Poughkeepsie Eagle-News. August 22, 1939. p. 5. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Homolka, Florence Meyer (c. 1958). "Van Cliburn" (photograph), National Portrait Gallery.
  6. ^ "Florence Meyer (Homolka) by Man Ray". Getty Collection Online. October 25, 1946. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  7. ^ La Force, Thessaly (May 20, 2021). "When Two Artists Meet, and Then Marry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  8. ^ "Exhibit Tea". Palos Verdes Peninsula News. November 16, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  9. ^ "Photo Exhibit To Open Monday At Tower Gallery". Palos Verdes Peninsula News. July 24, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  10. ^ Homolka, Florence (1962). Focus on Art. I. Obolensky. ISBN 978-0-8392-1034-4.
  11. ^ "Actor Weds Florence Meyer". The Daily Item. August 22, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Hubby Didn't Want to be Married". Daily News. August 10, 1946. p. 52. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Actor Homolka, ex-wife settle suit". Daily News. May 3, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  14. ^ "Mrs. Florence Homolka, 51, Daughter of Eugene Meyer". The New York Times. November 28, 1962. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
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