Irene Wolf, arts patron with close ties to Curtis

Irene Goldovsky Wolf, 93, of Chestnut Hill, a patron of the arts, died of heart failure Saturday, May 8, at home.

Mrs. Wolf served on the board of the Friends of Curtis Institute of Music from 1994 to 2007, and was often a hostess at Wednesday teas for faculty and students, said Roberto Diaz, director of the institute.

"Irene was a terrific friend to the school," Diaz said, and was a connection to its history.

Mrs. Wolf had strong ties to Curtis, which was founded in 1924. Her mother, the concert violinist Lea Luboshutz, was on the school's faculty from 1927 to 1947; her brother, Boris Goldovsky, headed the opera department for years; and her late son Andrew, a concert pianist, was a graduate.

Mrs. Wolf had a vacation home in Maine, and first spent time there as a child when her mother taught at the Curtis summer school in Rockport. She later helped establish Youth Arts and the Bay Chamber Concerts in Camden, Maine.

She and her late husband, Walter L. "Billy" Wolf, collected folk art and donated items to the Museum of American Folk Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

For 30 years, she served on the national board of Young Audiences Inc. and was a cofounder and former chair of its Philadelphia chapter. Now named Young Audience Arts for Living of Eastern Pennsylvania, the organization provides multicultural arts education programs.

Mrs. Wolf was also a patron of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Settlement Music School, and many other arts organizations. Her philanthropy tended to be quiet and often anonymous, a son, Thomas, said. When it was suggested that a community music school be named in her honor, she refused, saying in her practical way, "You will get my support anyway. Why not use the naming opportunity to secure more support from someone else?"

Mrs. Wolf was born into an affluent home in Moscow in 1916. Her father, Onissim Goldovsky, was a prominent lawyer. Within of year of her birth, her father died and the family lost its wealth in the Russian Revolution.

Her mother was forced to play concerts in factories to feed her three children. In 1922, the family escaped to Berlin and later lived in Paris. In 1928 it immigrated to the United States.

Mrs. Wolf graduated from Cheltenham High School. In 1933, when she was 16 and had not yet finished school, she married Walter Wolf, an executive in his family's packaging business. He died in 2002.

In addition to her son, Mrs. Wolf is survived by another son, Nicholas; daughters Alexandra Fogel, Lucy Tuton, and Catherine; 13 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren. Her son Andrew died in 1985.

Services will be announced.

Donations may be made to Curtis Institute of Music, Development Office, 1726 Locust St., Philadelphia 19103, of to Bay Chamber Concerts, 59 Bay View St., Camden, ME, 04853 or Merryspring Horticultural Center, P.O. Box 893, 30 Conway Rd., Camden, ME, 04843.