Grossman, Betty.

Dr. Betty Grossman (1914-1996) was a highly admired archaeologist and art historian, a pioneering museum educator, a generous patron of the arts, and a prolific writer with expertise in subjects ranging from Chinese bronzes to Grecian artifacts to American decorative arts. Educated at Mary Institute (St. Louis, Missouri), Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, New York), Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), and the American School of Classical Studies (Athens, Greece), Grossman's career was largely spent at the Saint Louis Art Museum (formerly the City Museum of St. Louis). There, she both administered and hosted numerous educational programs including gallery lectures, workshops, artist demonstrations, radio interviews, and television tours.

At Washington University she was tutored by world-renowned archaeologist George Mylonas, with whom she and her husband, Edwin (a lawyer and well-known public figure in St. Louis), developed a close friendship that spanned many years. In the 1960s and '70s Grossman and Mylonas worked jointly with the Washington University Archaeological Society in hosting highly publicized cruises to excavation sites in Greece. From the late 1950s onwards, the Grossmans were instrumental in administering the Mylonas Foundation and the Mycenean Melathron in Greece.