American photographer (1911–1962)
This article is about the American photographer born in 1911; for the American philanthropist born in 1875, see
Florence Meyer Blumenthal .
Florence Meyer Homolka
Born Florence Meyer
(1911-01-22 ) January 22, 1911New York City, U.S.
Died November 27, 1962(1962-11-27) (aged 51)Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation(s) Portrait photographer and
socialite Spouse
(
m. 1939;
div. 1948)
Children 2 Parents Relatives
Katharine 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
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
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
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
^
a
b
"Florence Meyer is Debutante" . The San Francisco Examiner . January 2, 1929. p. 16. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 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
^
"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 .
^
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.
^ Homolka, Florence Meyer (c. 1958).
"Van Cliburn" (photograph), National Portrait Gallery.
^
"Florence Meyer (Homolka) by Man Ray" . Getty Collection Online. October 25, 1946. Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
^ La Force, Thessaly (May 20, 2021).
"When Two Artists Meet, and Then Marry" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved December 26, 2022 .
^
"Exhibit Tea" . Palos Verdes Peninsula News . November 16, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
^
"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.
^ Homolka, Florence (1962).
Focus on Art . I. Obolensky.
ISBN
978-0-8392-1034-4 .
^
"Actor Weds Florence Meyer" . The Daily Item . August 22, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Hubby Didn't Want to be Married" . Daily News . August 10, 1946. p. 52. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Actor Homolka, ex-wife settle suit" . Daily News . May 3, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
^
"Mrs. Florence Homolka, 51, Daughter of Eugene Meyer" . The New York Times . November 28, 1962.
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved December 26, 2022 .
External links
International National Artists People Other