Judith Hope Blau

Judith Hope Blau (April 5, 1938 – May 4, 2025) was an American painter, jewelry maker, writer, and toy designer.

Early life and education

Blau was born in the Bronx and raised in Morris Park, Bronx. Her parents were dentist Samuel Ravinett and Evalynne (Korodsky) Ravinett, an entrepreneur who operated laundromats.

Blau graduated from the University of Rochester with a fine-arts degree. She also studied at Cornell University, Hunter College, and Columbia University.

Career

Blau was a painter, who then developed a necklace made from painted mini-bagels which became extraordinarily popular and was sold in stores, including Bloomingdale's.

Blau published a children's book The Baker of Mulliner Lane in 1976. A review in The New York Times Book Review commented that her "illustrations start pleasantly muted but turn loony."

She later branched out into toy design, developing several successful toys, including one that sold a million units for Hasbro in 1985.

Personal life

She married Lawrence Blau, a nuclear physicist, in 1959, and they had two children. Her husband died in 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Green, Penelope. "Judith Hope Blau, Who Turned Bagels into Art, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Green, Penelope. "Judith Hope Blau, Who Turned Bagels Into Art, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  3. ↑ Dullea, Georgia (November 4, 1974). "Lowly Bagel Transformed By an Artist". The New York Times. p. 47. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Orgel, Doris (November 28, 1976). "Jewish Life in Legend". The New York Times Book Review. p. 41. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Lawrence M. Blau '59". Princeton Alumni Weekly. October 21, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2025.