Epstein, Jacob, 1864-1945

Jacob Epstein was born in Tauroggen, Lithuania in 1864. He immigrated to the United States in 1879, first arriving in New York, then making his way to Baltimore where he opened his first store in 1881. Epstein's store sold wholesale goods to merchants all around the southern U.S. and eventually became known as the Baltimore Bargain House and later the American Wholesale Corporation. It was sold in 1929. Epstein married Lena Weinberg in 1888. They had two daughters, Ethel in 1889 and Marian in 1890. Ethel married A. Ray Katz in 1909 and Marian married Sidney Lansburgh in 1910. Both men became partners in Epstein's business, giving him the time to focus on philanthropy and community affairs. Epstein served as director for many Baltimore institutions including National Howard Bank, Continental Trust Company, Federated Jewish Charities, Merchants and Manufacturers Association, and the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. He was also vice-president of the Clothiers' Board of Trade. Epstein was well known for his philanthropy and served on the Board of Supervisors of City Charities and on the board of Eudowood Sanitarium as well as founding the Jewish House for Consumptives (Mount Pleasant). In 1906, Epstein purchased his first work of art, a painting by Tryon. Other works by well-known European artists such as Jozef Israels and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot soon followed. After the display of his collection at the Inaugural Exhibition of the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1923, Epstein was asked to join the first board of trustees at the new museum, a position he held until his death. Two of the most important pieces in his collection were acquired in 1927: Van Dyck's Rinaldo and Armida and Raphael's Portrait of Emilia Pia de Montefeltro. These purchases caused a sensation in the newspapers, as Epstein spent $250,000 on each painting, thus securing his place as a true art collector. The bulk of Epstein's collection was purchased in the 1920s and 1930s and eventually held works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Titian, Tiepolo, Barye, Goya, and Rodin. In 1939, Epstein published a catalog of his art collection, The Jacob Epstein Collection in the Baltimore Museum of Art. On his death, his collection was willed to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Epstein died in Palm Beach, Florida in 1945. The life of Jacob Epstein has been further documented in the following publication: Levy, Lester S. Jacob Epstein. Baltimore: Maran Press, 1978.