Arts patron Jack L. Wolgin, gave city the Clothespin

JACK L. WOLGIN was a prominent developer, philanthropist, patron of the arts and city mover and shaker, but he's going to go down in history as the man who brought the Clothespin to Philadelphia.

It's a distinction not hard to understand since the 45-foot stainless-steel sculpture is right in the middle of the city's bustling business district.

Thousands of people hurry under it every day, teeming out of the subway station at 15th and Market streets to find it looming over them, hurrying to and from jobs and shopping. It can't be missed.

It is without a doubt a clothespin, although its creator, Claes Oldenburg, insisted it has deeper meaning. But what is anybody's guess.

Jack Wolgin, who developed the Center Square high-rise office complex where the Clothespin is situated, financed an important art prize for Temple University's Tyler School of Art and began a film festival to highlight Jewish and Israeli productions, died yesterday. He was 92 and lived in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Wolgin was also the developer of other projects in the city, including the Rittenhouse Hotel and the 1700 Market Street office building. But his passion always was to build the prestige of his native city as a hub of art and culture.

When he announced his $3.7 million gift to the Tyler school in 2008, Therese Dolan, then Tyler's interim dean, commented that Wolgin "wanted to shine a light on Philadelphia as a center for the arts."

The annual $150,000 prize was to be awarded to artists for "work that transcends traditional boundaries and exemplifies the highest level of excellence in painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, ceramics, metals, glass or fibers."

Wolgin previously endowed the Wolgin Prize for Israeli Cinema, awarded annually at the Jerusalem Film Festival, and the Wolgin Prize for Scientific Excellence, awarded by Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.

The Jack Wolgin Film Festival began in 2004 at his synagogue, Beth Sholom Congregation, in Elkins Park. He also helped found the Theater of the Living Arts and was active in numerous art institutions in the city.

Wolgin once made a bid to buy the Eagles, but was outbid by Jerry Wolman in 1963.

He was born in Philadelphia's Logan section and attended Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School

As for the Clothespin, Wolgin had to face down the opposition of the city's leaders to put it up.

"There was tremendous controversy from the establishment," he once said. "They wanted another Civil War hero in bronze on horseback."

A local artist declared that Oldenburg belonged to the "cuckoo" school of art and the work was "an exorbitantly priced joke." It cost $400,000 and was dedicated on July 1, 1976.

Wolgin claimed that he, not Oldenburg, made a statue out of the clothespin design that the artist had only sketched. Wolgin took the sketch, got a foundry to cast the sculpture, and decided where to place it.

"The only thing that Oldenburg did was make a drawing," Wolgin said.

Jack Wolgin was a "very intelligent, charming man with a great sense of humor," said his granddaughter Katey Wolgin. "The family is really proud of what he has done for Philly.

"He was a presence. He was always there. We were all lucky to have him."

He also is survived by a daughter, Barbara Burwick; five other grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Muriel, who died last year; a son, Mark D. Wolgin, and a daughter, Deborah Pashman.

Services: 11 a.m. Sunday at Joseph Levine & Son funeral home, 7112 N. Broad St.