Mary Frick Jacobs

Mary Frick Garrett Jacobs (January 4, 1851 – October 20, 1936) was a Baltimore socialite, philanthropist, and art collector. She is best known for her collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Personal life Born in Baltimore in 1851, Mary Frick Garrett Jacobs (née Mary Sloan Frick) was one of three children. Her father, William Frederick Frick (1817-1905) was a prominent attorney, and her mother, Ann Elizabeth Swan Frick (1819-1889) was a descendant of Sir George Yeardley, who had been appointed governor of Virginia and was knighted by James VI and I in 1618. Throughout her childhood, she was educated by governesses and tutors and was not permitted to leave home without the accompaniment of a tutor or family member.

In 1872, Mary wed Robert Garrett, the oldest son of John W. Garrett, who was president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Robert Garrett & Sons Bank. After suffering from years of mental and physical breakdowns, Robert Garret died in 1896 of kidney failure.

Now widowed, Mary married Robert Garret's longtime, personal physician, Henry Barton Jacobs, in 1902 at Grace Protestant Episcopal Church. Mary became one of the first women to be part of the Baltimore Municipal Art Society in 1899 and then became an official member in 1902. She ultimately became the society's leader later that year. In addition to her art contributions, she was also well known for her skills in entertaining.

Art collection With her fortune, Mary Frick Garrett Jacobs amassed a collection of European paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries, tapestries, miniatures, porcelain, and jades. Her paintings included works by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Charles Willson Peale, Pietro Perugino, Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Thomas Sully, and George Romney (painter). In 1934 Jacobs offered her art collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art under several conditions. One of the conditions was that John Russell Pope would be the architect to design the wing in which her collection would be displayed, a request the board acquiesced to.