Judith Hope Blau
Judith Hope Blau (April 5, 1938 – May 4, 2025) was an American painter, jewelry maker, writer, and toy designer.[1]
Early life and education
Blau was born in the Bronx. Her parents were dentist Samuel Ravinett and Evalynne (Korodsky) Ravinett, an entrepreneur who operated laundromats.[1]
Blau graduated from the University of Rochester with a fine-arts degree.[2] She also studied at Cornell University, Hunter College, and Columbia University.[1]
Career
Blau was a painter,[1] who then developed a necklace made from painted mini-bagels which became extraordinarily popular and was sold in stores, including Bloomingdale's.[3][1]
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."[3]
She later branched out into toy design, developing several successful toys, including one that sold a million units for Hasbro in 1985.[1]
Personal life
She married Lawrence Blau, a nuclear physicist, in 1959,[1] and they had two children.[1] Her husband died in 2015.[4]
References
- 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.
- ↑ Dullea, Georgia (November 4, 1974). "Lowly Bagel Transformed By an Artist". The New York Times. p. 47. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- 1 2 Orgel, Doris (November 28, 1976). "Jewish Life in Legend". The New York Times Book Review. p. 41. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ↑ "Lawrence M. Blau '59". Princeton Alumni Weekly. October 21, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- 1938 births
- 2025 deaths
- 20th-century American designers
- 20th-century American illustrators
- 20th-century American women painters
- 20th-century American painters
- 20th-century people from New York (state)
- 21st-century American designers
- 21st-century American illustrators
- 21st-century American women painters
- 21st-century American painters
- 21st-century people from New York (state)
- American jewelry designers
- American toy designers
- American women children's book illustrators
- American children's book illustrators
- American women designers
- Artists from the Bronx
- Designers from New York City
- Columbia University alumni
- Cornell University alumni
- Hunter College alumni
- Painters from New York City
- University of Rochester alumni