Henrietta Tower

Henrietta Tower (Henriette, Enrichetta) (26 October 1856 – 3 April 1933) was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. While living in Rome, she and her husband, George Washington Wurts, created an art collection containing approximately 3,000 works a lawyer, businessman, and graduate of Harvard University. On her father’s death in 1889, Tower inherited a vast fortune from his business ventures which included a coal mining operation in Pennsylvania and an iron production plant in Minnesota. This inheritance made her one of the wealthiest women in the United States at that time.

Life in Rome and art collection

Tower married George Washington Wurts in 1898. In 1902 the couple moved to Rome and bought a villa, known as the Villa Sciarra-Wurts, which they spent the rest of their lives renovating and decorating with a variety of art works. They frequently entertained the wealthy, ambassadors, and aristocratic members of society. After her husband died in 1928 Tower gave their villa to the city of Rome on the condition that the vast garden be turned into a public park and cultural center in honor of the German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. (Included with this was a gift of $50,000 to maintain the property.) various works from China and Japan, and a significant number of works from Russia including 33 late 19th-century women's hats.