The greatest inheritance of all time from my parents to me!

My mother was a great beauty with a deeply curious mind for the arts. She accepted my father's decision to make their lives in his hometown (Philadelphia) as did so many women who married American soldiers. These 15,000,000 men had every right to be tough. They had just defeated two nations led by the evilest men in all of history - the Germans and Japanese. So, they brought their new wives to their home towns and built some of the best parts of the United States that we all enjoy today. Because of her interest in painting, my mother's new friends in her new home turned out to be Jewish from wealthy, established families with a passionate interest in scholarship, cultural institutions, and their places of worship. They were deeply curious, patient, kind and possessed a wonderful sense of humor. But most importantly they saw the future brilliantly. They were women that encouraged their husbands to take a chance on a new idea rather than live with something that was steady. My father's friends came from his membership in Young Presidents Organization which then had a membership of 100 people that were purposely split between Christians and Jews. This group was an exception in the Philadelphia of the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's because of a virulent anti-Semitic bias that most wealthy Christian men had. It was ugly and highly damaging and cost the "Delaware Valley" many golden opportunities. Certainly great art collections that should have ended up in Philadelphia were given elsewhere. Most notably was Lessing Rosenwald's collection of Old Master woodcuts and engravings that went to the National Gallery in Washington and Walter Annenberg's Impressionist paintings that went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My father saw this clearly and successfully proposed Anneberg as the first Jewish member of the Union League Club but it was too late. What I inherited from both my parents was their absolute blindness to race, religion, sexual preference and gender. They selected friends based on their love of learning, cultural institutions, raising their children well and material culture. As far as I know this subject has never been written about for the Philadelphia region. The reason it comes to mind now is Charles Eisendrath's recently published brilliant book about Jewish life in Michigan where he grew up. He encountered the same thoughtful, family-oriented, scholarly people and created a glorious life devoted to Journalism, raising a family, manufacturing grills and much, much more. He even built a world-class map collection centering on the Great Lakes. His wonderful book brought back many, many wonderful memories for me. His book is offered to you as my holiday gift to you to give you a peak into this very, very special world Why is this important? These families both Christian and Jewish that were friends of my parents bore children that are a highly accretive part of American life today. Their dear friends included Sue and Ralph Roberts parents to the most successful media executive in the world today, Audrey and Ed Sabol parents to Steve who invented NFL Films and won more Emmys than anyone else in all of television - 35, Ruth and Ray Perelman parents to Ron who owns Revlon today, Fran and Herb Middleton father to John who owns the Phillies Baseball team, Joan and Victor Johnson parents to the CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, Sue and Frank Binswanger parents and aunt and uncle to men who run a real estate empire. The list goes on but my inheritance was to know people who were open-minded, loved history, raising their children and thought a great deal about the future as well as the past. Even today after 53 years in my business, my greatest thrill is finding a passage in a reference book that answers my question. That came from the friends that they made. Graham Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue, NYC, NY, 10075