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Albert Roothbert | About
Toni Roothbert
Antonie
von Horn Roothbert
By
Charles van Horne
One of the first
woman commercial photographers of this century, Antonie "Toni"
von Horn Roothbert was also a social activist and benefactress.
Her work lives on now primarily through The Roothbert Fund,
which was created and shaped by Albert Roothbert, her husband,
and Toni during their lifetimes.
Family and Predecessors
Antonie von Horn was born on March 31, 1899 in Mannheim, Germany.
Her family had deep roots in Brunswick (a.k.a. Braunschweig)
in northern Germany, where for several generations various
members of the family were Mayors, Senators and/or Consuls
of this important member of the Hanseatic League. When that
was disbanded, more recent ancestors of Toni extended their
service to the state as members of the military, for example,
in commanding a regiment of Royal Hannover Guards to fight
with Wellington at Waterloo and in helping to organize the
Danish army. Toni's paternal grandfather commanded one of
three battalions that fought at nearly all the front line
battles of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871.
This grandfather
apparently had a dislike for, or at least was of two minds
about many aspects of the military. He educated his oldest
son (Toni's father), as a merchant in the tobacco business.
In any case, this rather more enlightened attitude was not
of great help: the business involved a great deal of trading
with Holland and other countries, including the United States,
and it fell on hard times during the First World War: assets
in Holland were expropriated due to the German connection
and the German side suffered from association with the Dutch.
Toni's father died
in 1916 when Toni was 17 years old, and the family business
was sold. Toni and her mother moved to Hamburg to stay with
Toni's now married sister and her family and Toni went to
study photography at the Kuntsgewerbeshule (the School of
Applied Arts) in Hamburg.
Career: Society
and Fashion Photographer
Toni von Horn graduated from the Hamburg in the early 1920's,
and set up a studio in Heidelberg near where she had grown
up. At this time, her work came to the attention of Otto Kahn,
the industrialist, who invited her to the United States to
take photographs of his estate. While in New York she met
Frank Crowninshield, the editor of Vanity Fair (and
a founder and the first Secretary of the Museum of Modern
Art) who reviewed her photos and recommended that she stay
in the United States to pursue her career.
During the 14 year
period from 1923 when she came to the United States until
1937 when she retired from the photographic scene, Toni von
Horn established herself as one of the most active and well-known
society and fashion photographers in New York. Her regular
editorial work at Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar,
her repetitive shoots for the most sought after advertising
accounts like Bergdorf Goodman and the soap companies, and
the portraiture conducted from her studios establishes her
as a prominent professional at a time that many consider to
be among photography's most dynamic and dramatic periods.
Indeed she was one of the first women to operate in this field
at the level of Edward Steichen, Adolf de Meyer and George
Hoyningen-Heune, among others, and the only one to operate
as an equal in direct competition with them.
 Toni
formally joined Conde Nast publications (which included Vogue
and Vanity Fair) in the fall of 1930 where she was
the first woman in the Conde Nast stable of the most famous
photographers of the day, including Steichen and Hoyningen-Heune,
among others. Her ease of entry to society and other exclusive
occasions could not have been hurt by the fact that she was
the Baroness von Horn. Indeed a title seems to have assisted
a great number of society and fashion photographers active
between the wars, including de Meyer and Hoyningen-Heune,
although she appears not to have pushed this background directly.
During her career,
Toni produced photos for Vogue in 1930 and 1931, for
Vanity Fair during 1930 through April 1932, for Harper's
from February 1932 through January 1935 and provided some
images again for Vanity Fair starting in July 1934.
In addition to her fashion shots, her images for Conde Nast
include portraits of Paulette Goddard (before she married
Charlie Chaplin), Ginger Rogers (before Fred Astaire), Joan
Bennett, Claudette Colbert, Clive Brook, Gloria Swanson, Robert
Montgomery and Cole Porter, among others. Her work also included
photographs of other notables, such as the famous (at the
time) portrait of Albert Einstein, taken in 1932 shortly after
he moved to the United States.
Arguably, Toni's
best work was done for Harper's and included images
of Marlene Dietrich, Eleanor Roosevelt, and numerous images
of society luminaries, with family names like Astor, Vanderbilt
and Biddle, and princesses and the like from Europe. Her key
advertising clients included Bergdorf Goodman (her photos
for the Fur Salon were a regular and prominent feature in
all these magazines for several years,) and the other department
stores such as Henri Bendel, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller
and I Magnin. She also did advertising and promotional work
for Chanel, Camay and Lux soaps, Ipana, Kodak and Lucky Strike.
In early 1932,
Toni moved to Harper's Bazaar, and, instead of being
number two in New York, she was featured as the principal
New York photographer, the counterpoint to Baron Adolph de
Meyer based in Paris. A few months after Toni joined, Carmel
Snow also moved from Conde Nast, where she had been Editor
of American Vogue, to Harper's Bazaar, initially
as Fashion Editor. Carmel Snow was given the mandate to thoroughly
rejuvenate Harper's and she proceeded to put her stamp on
the magazine in the form of a general makeover. This was to
begin a period when Harper's became "one of the most
fervently admired magazines in America. Its coverage of fashion,
the arts and the contemporary scene was consistently more
lively and more imaginative than Vogue's; its graphic
design and layouts were more elegant; and its reputation for
hiring the best photographers and giving them relatively free
rein was a frequent embarrassment to the rival publication."1
Toni von Horn's
decision to give up photography in 1937 must have been very
complex and we can only speculate about the reasons, rationalizations,
catalysts and emotions involved. Certainly her marriage at
age 38 to Albert Roothbert, at 63 considerably her senior,
brought new attachments, horizons and its own share of expectations.
So why is Toni
so unknown in the history of photography? Why does she receive
only minor (even if they are generally flattering) mentions
in the two published histories of fashion photography and
women photographers? No museum curators or dealers seem to
have ever heard of her. Many events conspire: when she left
the field, she never really took another photo, and very few
of her original images from her peak production years have
survived. In many ways she was ambivalent about her work,
and, by the time photography began to be taken seriously as
a medium of art in the late 1960's, she was the last to care
or engage in self-promotion. Her plates and negatives lay
in damp storage in an outbuilding at Topstone Farm and were
discarded after she passed away, probably without a thought.
When the first serious books on photography during this period
were compiled, the easiest records to access were those at
Conde Nast, and clearly, Toni's most original and modern work
had been at Harper's, which had neglected its files.
Besides, Toni signed her work as "Tony von Horn" or "von Horn"
and most researchers did not connect her work with that of
a woman, prominent in "a man's business" so early on.
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Marriage to
Albert Roothbert, Becoming a Spiritual Activist
Needless to say, there were other sides to Toni besides her
photography. Toni's interests (in many cases, "passions")
in bio-dynamic (i.e., what we today call "organic") farming,
purchases of farms and different parcels of real estate, seeds
to Albert Schweitzer, and macrobiotic diets all were interrelated.
Her spiritualism expressed itself through interests at one
time or another in Buddhism, Theosophy, Meher Baba, Rudolf
Steiner, Bahai and the Quakers. The general theme through
all of this was an active, high-minded person, committed to
pursuing ends to the extreme, if necessary, to achieve her
goals.
While a photographer,
Toni had bought a country place in Thomaston, Northern Connecticut,
called Moosehorn Farm. After she married Albert, she apparently
sold it but, thereafter, spent quite some time searching out
real estate and farms that might be converted to biodynamic
disciplines. One of her searches led her to Copake in upstate
New York, and to the founding of Camphill
Village, a very special community for mentally handicapped
children and young adults, the first of its kind in the United
States.
"The Camphill
way of life has developed out of the belief that each person,
with or without handicap, is a unique spiritual being entitled
to lead a full and purposeful life in freedom and dignity.
The task of Camphill is to create the special conditions
in which people with handicaps can learn to live with their
limitations rather than suffer from them, and to discover,
develop and realize their abilities to the fullest extent."2
Toni had bought
a 216-acre property called Sunny Valley in Copake with intention
to convert it to bio-dynamic principals. Her search for a
manager led her to the former owners who had previously established
a school for mentally handicapped children at the farm. Although
they had since moved to Pennsylvania, they had been in touch
with Dr. Konig, the founder of the Camphill movement to see
about setting up one of his communities in the United States.
Toni ceded the Sunny Valley property to Camphill, and in the
early 1960s Carlo Pietzner and his wife came to head it up,
together with Hartmut von Jeetze, the first farmer at the
Village. In subsequent years, Toni also helped to secure Albert
Schweitzer's assistance for Camphill and to assist in purchasing
a farm contiguous to Sunny Valley that was to double the size
of the community.
Toni's interest
in organic farming had roots in her great concern over the
proper use of the environment and the direct impact this could
have on one's health. When in the early 1960s, George Osawa,
the "father" of macrobiotic diets in the West, came to New
York, she was among the very earliest of supporters. Besides
attending the unforgettable rice dinners in New York, all
who knew her then remember how that she embraced the diet,
with characteristically full intensity, for herself, Albert
and all who shared her table.
Toni had sincere
interests in or at least flirted with a wide variety of spiritual
figures and alternative religions: Buddhism, Theosophy, Krishnamurti,
Rudolf Steiner, and possibly (almost certainly!) others. After
World War II, she was attracted to Meher Baba whose objective
was to bring all religions together. Baba announced in 1952
that he was the reincarnation of the Avatar and Jesus Christ
and then established an ashram at Myrtle Beach, where Toni
also purchased a house. She admired the writings of Kahil
Gibran, one of whose credos was "don't trust any organized
religion." She was certainly comfortable comparing or debating
the merits of many religions, but it is also hard to identify
any one that was closest to her own inner spirit. However,
during these years, Toni joined a group called the Wider Quakers,
which Albert in his later years identified as the religious
group to which he felt closest. Perhaps Toni and Albert were
drawn to the Quakers because this religion's history and roots
are based in Western civilization, while, in many of its ways,
it is almost Eastern. Pendle Hill, the Quaker retreat outside
Philadelphia, of course, became the site of the Roothbert's
annual retreats.
One of the interesting
questions for the Roothbert Fellows is to identify the influence
of Albert on Toni's interests and hers on his. Albert's writings
show him to be a high-minded person throughout his life. Notwithstanding
his formal baptism into the Christian faith, he also seems
to have despaired of the divisiveness of man's structured
religious and other (in the 1930s) self-organized boundaries.
He questions: "How can we build an enduring peace, if every
individual wants to continue his own pet aversions and intolerances?"3
and " How can we raise the level of our spiritual life?"4
As for Toni, there
seemed always to be a distinct pattern to her style: attraction
to many ideas, pick out the pieces that resonate with her
own personal vision, active personal involvement to get it
going and done, all capped by Toni's own style of encouragement
to ensure that the people on the project kept on track. Toni
was in her element when in the midst of action. The realm
of pure contemplation was less appealing to her, and I suspect
this was one of the greatest differences between Albert and
her.
Final Years:
Building the Roothbert Fund
The first three grants of the Roothbert Fund were made in
1959. Grants were made to more than 30 Fellows before Albert
passed away in October, 1965. While Toni clearly had an important
hand in the original concept and development of the Fund (which
was originally called the Toni and Albert Roothbert Fund)
and was a member of the Board of Directors, she did not try
to play a central role in setting its direction. Memories
of early participants in the Fund place her in the role of
"hostess" to the group, but not above expressing a bit of
exasperation at some of the decisions made by the "men" who
made up the Board at that time.
The Fund was smaller
then, most meetings were held either in the New York apartment
on 48th Street or at their country home at Topstone Farm in
Ridgefield, Connecticut. Her energy and style contrasted somewhat
with that of Albert, who, by then in his late eighties, had
lost the better part of his hearing. She was better able to
keep in touch with the Fellows (several of whom were women),
or even their spouses, and it is from these beginnings that
the concept of "Fellowship" came into being.
When one looks
at the underlying motivations and overall objectives of the
Fund, it is important to remember that Toni and Albert had
no children. They had married late and almost certainly never
intended to have any. Both had been very successful in their
professional lives and, while they lived modestly, they also
lived a life of relative economic comfort, surrounded by great
art (paintings by Seurat, Modigliani, Matisse, Derain, Stella,
O'Keefe, Bluemner, and sculpture from China, Egypt and Africa,
among others) and able to support the causes they felt deserving.
But they felt a desire to offer something that would directly
represent "an investment in the nation's most important raw
material, its spiritual resources, at the point when such
an investment is most helpful."5
In a sense, the
Roothbert Fund was Toni and Albert's legacy to the world.
If Albert had the vision and the original spirit to create
a unique fund, after he departed and the burden fell upon
her, Toni worked to help the adopted child stand on its own
two feet and walk, if not run. She felt it was necessary to
give the Fund shape, for it to reflect her/their view of the
world as it should and could be. And to do this Toni had to
bring the Fund forward, to bring it more into the world as
an active presence for change.
Toni immersed herself
in the Fund for the five remaining years that were given to
her. She was greatly concerned to preserve Albert's vision
and channeled her energy to translate the original ideals
of the Fund into a greater degree of activism (ever true to
her own temperament!). From her correspondence and private
notes, one can see her preoccupation with spreading Albert's
vision of spirituality (for example, in writing notes to members
of the Board quoting certain works that Albert had annotated),
and with reinforcing the Fund's spiritual principals in conversation,
letters and activities:
Phil McKean, an
early Roothbert Fellow, notes that the kind of philanthropy
practiced by the Roothbert Fund was way ahead of its time.
He remembers Toni as one of the first people he had met who
answered the question, "How can we make a difference?" not
only by funding, but with personal commitment to provide education
and values that would endure. Everyone who knew Toni at this
time remembers the engaging manner in which she sought out
original thinkers who might help the Fund through their own
actions or through referrals of scholarship candidates.
Many have vivid
recollection of how Toni delved into the innermost workings
of a person's ambitions, and how she constantly endeavored
to bring more people into the circle. And as the number of
grantees grew, she put special attention into tying this new
family together, essentially creating a Fellows program. The
annual reunion dinners of the Fellows and Directors that had
been held in New York or at Topstone became weekend retreats
at Pendle Hill. Smaller, more informal meetings were held
to introduce new Fellows to older Fellows, luncheons were
organized with guest speakers, groups attended seminars and
attended dinners afterwards, outings were made to Camphill.
Minutes of Pendle Hill, and even certain of the meetings,
were produced and mailed to participants. Lowell Livezey's
suggestion that a newsletter be established was endorsed and
carried out. Indeed many of the traditions of the Fund began
in this highly productive period.
By 1970, the Fund
was growing at the rate of 20 new grantees each year. Two-thirds
of the grantees were graduate students, 40 percent were women.
The total number of Fellows exceeded 100. Toni was deeply
aware of the organic nature of such a project. The President's
Report of 1970 noted that Toni kept in touch with nearly every
one of the Fellows. Many of her written communications on
spirituality quote Albert, a writing with which both he and
she were familiar, or the by-laws of the Fund. But her activities
began to explore new territory for the Roothberts. Her interest
was to ensure the perpetuation of the Fund's activities, and
she felt the activity of Fellowship was the way to strengthen
the group. Toni was a person who, once she had done something
for you, didn't want you to forget it.
Although Toni's
mainstream efforts were to support the Roothbert Fund's scholarship
efforts, she also struck out in other directions, equally
spiritual in purpose, but less institutionalized than granting
scholarships. For example, her funding of a community project
being undertaken by a Harlem Prep Roothbert Fellow directly
from her own account acted somewhat as a catalyst in her seeking
ways to support the goals of the Roothbert Fund with grants
other than scholarships.
Toni's personal
philosophy is found in a pamphlet entitled "The Spiritual
Outlook of the Founder." It is interesting that, whereas the
by-laws to the Roothbert Fund refer to spirituality as a central
element of the Fund without defining it or giving direction
on how to apply it, Toni went to great lengths to explain
herself:
"Only in reverence
for life can man find his true place in the world that God
has created and continues to sustain. In a world in which
technological and scientific development narrows our vision
of life, our appreciation of nature, and, through the ease
of obtaining material goods and physical diversions, draw
us away from God, we must continuously seek to open the
spiritual windows of our soul to the vast meaning and significance
of God's...presence in all things.
"...In all projects
to be undertaken..., the over-riding purpose of an increase
in spiritual awareness is to be a guiding principle. By
spiritual awareness is meant an alertness to the life-giving
force of the universe, a sensitivity to the divine which
is caught up in the secular and everyday, and an openness
to the creative and constructive opportunities of our human
existence.... It is the hope of the founder to consciously
and meaningfully manifest in all the activities of the Topstone
Fund the presence of God and a clear pure reverence for
life."
Toni became aware
of her illness approximately a year before she died in December,
1970. At her death, Toni left the bulk of her estate to the
Roothbert Fund, the effect of which was to double the size
of its endowment. In her will, Toni specified her wish that
these funds be used to strengthen the Fellowship, a fitting
use for someone who had devoted so much of her time to this
purpose.
Now 25 years later,
the number of Fellows approaches 1000 and Pendle Hill still
provides an important opportunity for fellowship among grantees,
new and old. If Toni were still with us physically, no doubt,
she would exhort us, challenge each person individually in
that shrill voice of hers to "do more, be more" than what
we currently are, and hopefully she would write now, as she
did about one grantee, "another Roothbertian who has done
well." Certainly, more than the photos, Camphill or the Funds,
it was that engagement of life that should be inspiration
for us all.
Charles van
Horne is the great-nephew of Toni von Horn Roothbert, and
serves as Treasurer of The Roothbert Fund.
Illustration:
Jane F. Century
1 Kazanjian,
Dodie and Tomkins, Calvin, Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman,
1993: Knopf and Co., NY, p. 114
2 "What is Camphill?" Camphill
Association of North America, date uncertain.
3 Roothbert, Albert, "No Real
Peace Except from Within", April 1944, printed in A Remembrance
of our Founder, by Carl Solberg, The Roothbert Fund, New York,
1994.
4 Roothbert, Albert, "How Can We Raise
the Level of Our Spiritual Life?," October 1948, same source
as above.
5 Solberg, Carl, "The Roothbert
Fund, Its Program, Background and Development," New York,
July 1963.
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