Bethsabée de Rothschild

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baroness Bethsabée de Rothschild (name sometimes spelled Batsheva; b. September 23, 1914, in London; died April 20, 1999, in Tel Aviv, Israel) was a philanthropist, a patron of dance, and member of the Rothschild banking family.

Bethsabée de Rothschild was a great-granddaughter of James Mayer Rothschild (1792-1868) and the fourth and youngest child of Baron Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild (1868-1949) and his wife, the former Germaine Alice Halphen (1884-1975). Her father ran the French bank with his cousin Baron Robert Philippe de Rothschild (1880-1946). Educated in Paris, following the invasion of France in 1940, she fled with her family to New York City where she continued her studies in science at Columbia University.

During World War II, she enlisted in the Free French forces and was part of the landing force for the Battle of Normandy. She moved with the army to liberate Paris, where she served as a liaison between the French and United States military forces. At war's end, she returned to New York and enrolled at the Martha Graham dance school.

In 1951, Rothschild traveled to Israel for the first time and eventually settled there permanently in 1962. She adopted the Hebrew version of her name, "Batsheva". In Israel, she made significant contributions to dance through the establishment of the Batsheva Dance Company that became one of the most influential cultural role models in Israel. In the mid 1960s, she met the South African-born classical dancer, Jeannette Ordman, who had come to Israel in 1965 from London, England; the two women were romantic and professional partners until Rothschild's death. With Rothschild's financial backing, they formed a dance school and a few years later the Bat-Dor Dance Company, with Ordman as the company's artistic director.

In addition to her cultural activities, Bethsabée de Rothschild created two foundations to advance science and technology in Israel for which she was awarded the Israel Prize in 1989. Through a trust, she had inherited part a major art collection assembled by her grandfather Baron Alphonse James de Rothschild. This included a 17th century oil painting by Rembrandt and other Old Master paintings as well as Islamic and Venetian glass, decorative objects and porcelain, and Renaissance-style jewelry. Following her death, the collections were auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity. Rembrandt's "Portrait of a Lady" was sold by Christie's in London to the Dutch art dealer Robert Noortman for a record price of US$28.7 million. A 13th century Mamluk mosque lamp in pristine condition sold for US$4.8 million, a world record for Islamic glass.

Baroness Bethsabée de Rothschild died at her home in Tel Aviv in 1999 after a lengthy illness.