1. Maurice Wertheim was an American investment banker, chess player and patron, art collector, environmentalist, and philanthropist.
16 Facts About Maurice Wertheim
1. 2.
Maurice Wertheim began work at his father's firm, the United Cigar Manufacturers Company.
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Maurice Wertheim served on various boards and as a trustee for various organizations.
4.
Maurice Wertheim was trustee of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Mount Sinai Hospital, and The Nation.
5.
Maurice Wertheim was an amateur chess player and patron of the game.
6.
Maurice Wertheim served as the president of the Manhattan Chess Club, which he assisted financially and took an avid interest in playing correspondence chess.
7.
Maurice Wertheim financed the American participation in the US vs USSR radio chess match 1945, across ten boards, personally covering travel, site, and broadcast costs.
8.
Maurice Wertheim conceived of the idea for the 1946 chess match between the United States and the Soviet Union in Moscow, and persuaded the US State Department that it would make a difference in thawing the Cold War.
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Maurice Wertheim paid for all the costs, and personally led the team at the tournament.
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Maurice Wertheim was actively interested in art, fishing, nature conservancy, and theater.
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Maurice Wertheim was an active supporter of the New York Theatre Guild, where he later served as director overseeing the Guild's operations.
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Maurice Wertheim acquired 1,800 acres of land along the Carmans River on eastern Long Island for personal use to conserve waterfowl and for hunting.
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Maurice Wertheim amassed a notable collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works that contained many famous masterpieces, including paintings and sculptures by Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh.
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Maurice Wertheim collected work by Georgia O'Keeffe, and, together, the couple supported the Intimate Gallery.
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Maurice Wertheim married Ruth White in March 1930; they did not have children and divorced in 1935.
16.
Maurice Wertheim was married for a third time in 1944 to Cecile Berlage, who was his spouse until his death; they did not have children.