Irma B. Jaffe

Irma B. Jaffe
Born
Irma Blumenthal Levy

1917 (1917)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 2018(2018-01-03) (aged 100–101)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Burial place
Mount Ararat Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York, U.S.
Other namesIrma Blumenthal
Irma Korshak
EducationUniversity of Illinois Chicago, Columbia University (BA, MA, PhD)
OccupationsArt historian, research curator, educator
Spouse(s)Donald Korshak (m. 1935–?),
Samuel B. Jaffe (m. 1941–1987; his death)
Children1

Irma Blumenthal Jaffe (née Irma Blumenthal Levy; 1917 – January 3, 2018) was an American art historian, research curator, writer and educator. Jaffe was the founder and chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at Fordham University in New York City. Additionally she was a narrator and screen writer of a public television show. Jaffe wrote about Italian and American art history.

Early life and education

Irma Blumenthal Levy was born on 1917, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents were Estelle (née Levy) and Harry Blumenthal. She attended the University of Illinois Chicago, starting at age 17, but the following year she left school to marry Donald Korshak in 1935.

She returned to schooling in 1954 at Columbia University School of General Studies, and graduated in 1958 with magna cum laude honors. She continued at Columbia University, graduating in 1960 with a M.A. degree, and in 1966 with a PhD. Her dissertation was on the painter Joseph Stella.

In June 1941, she married Samuel B. Jaffe of New York City at the Belmont Hotel.

Career

While pursuing her Ph.D. in 1964, Jaffe was appointed research curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She left the Whitney Museum to join Fordham University. She was the founder and chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at Fordham University, where she remained until her retirement. Jaffe and Baroque scholar Rudolf Wittkower launched a symposium "Baroque Art: the Jesuit Contribution" during her time at Fordham University.

In 1971, Jaffe identified some of the subjects of a John Trumbull painting, The Declaration of Independence (1818), based on research and comparing with his earlier drawings.

Jaffe was the writer and narrator of a television series called Project Now: Introduction to Art History, airing in 1969 to 1970, on WABC-TV New York City.

She published books on artists Giovanni Battista Zelotti, Leonard Baskin, John Trumbull, and Joseph Stella.

Death

She died at age 101 on January 3, 2018, in her home in New York City.

Her daughter Yvonne Korshak is an art historian.

Publications

Books

  • Jaffe, Irma B. (1970). Joseph Stella. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0783741123.
  • Jaffe, Irma B. (1975). John Trumbull, Patriot–Artist of the American Revolution. New York Graphic Society. ISBN 978-0821204597.
  • Jaffe, Irma B. (1980). The Sculpture of Leonard Baskin. Viking Studio. ISBN 978-0670625260.
  • Jaffe, Irma B.; Columbardo, Gernando (2002). Shining Eyes, Cruel Fortune: The Lives and Loves of Italian Renaissance Women Poets. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0823221806.

Articles

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Jaffe, Irma B." Dictionary of Art Historians. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Jaffe, Irma B.". The World Who's Who of Women. Melrose Press. 1992. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-948875-80-9.
  3. ↑ "Engagement". Chicago Tribune. April 24, 1935. p. 17. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Weddings". Chicago Tribune. June 22, 1941. p. 106. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Mrs. Jaffe Named". The Times-Picayune. June 19, 1964. p. 18. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Stoelker, Tom (January 12, 2018). "Fordham Remembers Irma Jaffe, Founder of Music and Art History Department". Fordham Now. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  7. ↑ Glueck, Grace (June 23, 1971). "Scholar Disputes Key to Trumbull Oil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Wrong portrait hangs in Statehouse 166 years". American Press. November 8, 1989. p. 41. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Irma Jaffe Obituary (2018) - New York, NY". Legacy.com. The New York Times. January 5, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  10. ↑ Marquis Who's Who Inc (June 2004). Who's Who of American Women 2004–2005. Marquis Whos Who. p. 762. ISBN 978-0-8379-0430-6.
  11. ↑ Mellow, James R. (January 18, 1970). "'Adveture Into a Virgin Forest'". The New York Times (book review). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  12. ↑ Raymont, Henry (June 16, 1970). "30 University‐Press Books Are Cited". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 1, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Publishers honor academic presses". The Globe and Mail. June 18, 1970. p. 11. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Article clipped from The Journal Star". The Journal Star. October 4, 1975. p. 42. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Artist Was Patriot". The Times-Picayune. April 4, 1976. p. 70. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ ""Sculpture of Leonard Baskin'". The Morning Union. September 7, 1980. p. 95. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "A Sculptor's Work". Worcester Telegram. June 29, 1980. p. 86. Retrieved November 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Stampino, Maria Galli (July 2004). "Irma B. Jaffe with Gernando Colombardo. Shining Eyes, Cruel Fortune: The Lives and Loves of Italian Renaissance Women Poets. New York: Fordham University Press, 2002. xxxi + 431 pp. $50.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8232-2180-6; $25.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8232-2181-3". H-Italy (book review).