Florence Meyer
| Florence Meyer Homolka | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Florence Meyer January 22, 1911 New York City, U.S. |
| Died |
November 27, 1962 (aged 51) Los Angeles, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation | Portrait photographer and socialite |
| Spouse(s) | Oskar Homolka |
| Children |
Vincent Homolka Laurence Homolka |
| Parent(s) | Eugene Meyer and Agnes Elizabeth Ernst |
| Relatives | Katharine Graham (sister) |
Florence Meyer Homolka (January 22, 1911 – November 27, 1962) was an American portrait photographer and socialite. She was the wife of the actor Oskar Homolka.
Early life
She was born Florence Meyer in New York City, the eldest daughter of Eugene Meyer (1875–1959), publisher of the Washington Post, and Agnes Elizabeth (Ernst) Meyer (1887–1970). Her younger sister was the future Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Lutheran, from a family of German descent.[1][2][3] Along with her four siblings, she was baptized as a Lutheran but attended an Episcopal church.[4]
She studied dance and acting in Paris and Berlin.
Photography
She photographed numerous artists, playwrights, actors, writers, composers, musicians, statesmen, film stars, and other celebrities of her day. Her work included portraits of James Agee, Thomas Mann, Constantin Brâncuși, Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Vladimir Horowitz, Lion Feuchtwanger, Arnold Schoenberg and of fellow photographers Edward Steichen, Walker Evans, and Brassaï.[5]
Meyer was a close friend and protégé 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. Meyer was the author of "Focus on Art", published posthumously in 1963.
Personal life
In 1939, Meyer married the Austrian character actor Oskar Homolka (1898–1978). They had two sons, Vincent and Laurence, and later divorced.
After leaving Germany shortly after the Nazis took power, the Homolkas lived in London for a few years. They then settled in Los Angeles around 1943, and lived at 10788 Bellagio Road in Bel-Air and 914 Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades.
She died in Los Angeles in 1962. Her body was cremated.
References
- ↑ Godfrey Hodgson. "Obituary: Katharine Graham | Media". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- ↑ "Graham Holdings - Our Company - History". Washpostco.com. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- ↑ "'Washington Post' icon Katharine Graham, 84, dies". Usatoday.Com. 2001-07-18. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- ↑ Zweigenhaft, Richard L. and G. William Domhoff The New CEOs : Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies Published: 2014-03-18 |Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- ↑ "Florence Homolka (Getty Museum)". Getty.edu. 1946-10-25. Retrieved 2015-07-31.