Louise Crane

Who was Louise Crane?

Louise Crane, a prominent American philanthropist. Crane was a friend to some of New York’s leading literary figures, including Tennessee Williams and Marianne Moore.

Crane's father was Winthrop Murray Crane, an American millionaire and former governor of Massachusetts. Her mother was MoMA co-founder Josephine Porter Boardman. Louise smoothly moved into the role of patron of the arts. She was a prominent supporter of jazz and orchestral music, initiating a series of "coffee concerts" at MoMA and commissioning a vocal and orchestral work by Lukas Foss. She even worked representing musicians, including Mary Lou Williams.

Crane met Elizabeth Bishop while classmates together at Vassar in 1930. The pair traveled extensively in Europe and bought a house together in 1937 in Key West, Florida. While Bishop lived in Key West, Crane occasionally returned to New York. Crane developed a passionate interest with Billie Holiday in 1941.

Crane published Ibérica, a Spanish language review, with her companion, Victoria Kent, from 1954 to 1974. Ibérica featured news for Spanish people exiled in the United States. Kent was a prominent member of the Spanish Republican party, opposed to Franco.