Philanthropist co-founded contemporary art museum
Beatrice Cummings Mayer, who with her late husband, Robert, was one of the founders of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, was an activist for social justice who put her resources to work on behalf of those in need.
“That was her heart,” said her daughter, Ruth Mayer. “A philanthropist always, a champion of the underserved who deeply cared about people who were less fortunate.”
Mayer, known to most as Buddy, supported many Chicago groups and organizations, including Anshe Emet Synagogue, the University of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, Access Living and The Chicago Lighthouse.
In the 1960s, she was among a group of women who traveled south in an effort to build relationships between diverse communities through a program called “Wednesdays in Mississippi.” The work also aimed to provide on-theground support for students and local organizers working on voter registration for African-Americans living in the state.
“She prayed with her feet,” her daughter said of her mother’s trips to Mississippi.
Mayer, 97, died of natural causes Sept. 15 in her Chicago home, her daughter said.
She was born Beatrice Cummings in Montreal. Her family moved to Baltimore in 1939 after her father, Nathan Cummings, learned that a small, nearly bankrupt grocery company was for sale. That business eventually grew into Consolidated Foods, which became known for one of its product lines, Sara Lee.
Her father affectionately called her his rosebud, which led to the nickname Buddy.
Mayer got a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1943. During World War II, she joined the Red Cross Home Service and took courses at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She met her future husband on a blind date at the Ravinia Festival in 1947.
Mayer and her husband, who was president of clothing retailer Maurice L. Rothschild, built an eclectic art collection, according to Marla Hand, curator of the family collection. They collected boldly, she said, buying modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures, antiques, Asian ceramics, oceanic and African art.
They were pioneers of pop, hanging Warhol’s “Soup Cans” in the living room and enjoying everyone’s amazement at what they considered art. Other artists in their collection included Roy Lichtenstein, Jean Dubuffet and Ellsworth Kelly.
Before her husband’s death in 1974, the couple lived in the Winnetka mansion called “Edgecliff,” where seven galleries housed some of the 2,000 pieces of art the couple had collected. Hand said Mayer and her husband invited many groups into the home for fundraising and charity events. After he died, Mayer initiated a loan program in which pieces from the collection were loaned to as many as 35 university-affiliated museums around the country.
Mayer’s generosity to those in need was typified by her contributions to The Chicago Lighthouse, which serves the blind, visually impaired, disabled and veteran communities.
“Mostly she wanted to help and that’s what made her happy, helping those in need,” said Jennifer Miller, the organization’s chief development officer, who met Mayer about 15 years ago.
Mayer recognized that many blind or visually impaired seniors were isolated at home. “She homed in on seniors,” Miller said. Mayer bought iPads for seniors to use in Lighthouse programs introducing them to technology. Wanting to do more, Mayer helped build a dedicated place at The Lighthouse, a program center especially for seniors. The Beatrice Cummings Senior Center, dedicated in 2017, is within The Lighthouse at 1850 W. Roosevelt Road.
Ruth Mayer remembered as a youngster taking part in the Christmas-season Tribune Neediest Kids Fund.
“She took us to the toy store and we had to pick out toys and she insisted that we deliver them to their homes,” Ruth Mayer said. “She wanted to be sure we saw that the world did not live as we did and to always be sensitive to those who have less.”
Mayer is also survived by five grandchildren. Her son Robert died in 2015.
There will be a service at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Ritz Carlton, 160 E. Pearson St., Chicago.