Roberta Latow
Roberta Latow was a prominent American interior designer and author, celebrated for her international reputation in design and her contributions to literature. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1931, she studied at the Parsons School of Design and graduated from the Whitney School of Interior Design in 1950. Latow opened two modern art galleries—one in Springfield and another in New York City—where she showcased contemporary art and developed close relationships with notable artists like Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.
In addition to her work in art and design, Latow wrote over twenty romance novels from 1981 to 2006, drawing inspiration from her extensive travels in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her writing often featured themes of love, personal history, and the complexity of relationships, with her second novel, "Tidal Wave," earning an award from Romantic Times. Throughout her life, Latow's diverse experiences, including her time living in Greece and Egypt, enriched both her artistic and literary pursuits. She passed away from cancer in Oxford, England, in 2003, leaving behind a legacy as a multifaceted creative talent.
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Roberta Latow
Interior Designer
- Born: September 27, 1931
- Birthplace: Springfield, Massachusetts
- Died: February 4, 2003
- Place of death: Oxford, England
Biography
Roberta Latow was known primarily as an interior designer, a field in which she gained an international reputation. She also owned and managed two galleries that exhibited modern art, one in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the other in New York City. In addition, she was the author of more than twenty well received romance novels published between 1981 and 2006.
Born in Springfield in 1931, Latow was the daughter of a businessman, Sol Latow, and his wife, Rose. Always interested in design and decoration, she studied at the Parsons School of Design and then graduated from the Whitney School of Interior Design in 1950. When she launched her career, she quickly gained success as an interior designer. Between 1952 and 1981, she worked in many countries, traveling extensively in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
By 1954, Latow had opened a modern art gallery in Springfield and soon afterwards opened a second gallery in New York City. The Brooklyn Museum of Art commissioned her to travel abroad in order to buy artifacts and native crafts to add to their collections. This commission necessitated her traveling throughout the world in quest of art work.
In 1967, Latow left the United States and settled in Greece for the next several years. During her stay there, she began to experiment with writing, using her travels and friendships with a number of celebrities as the basis for her early stories, many of which she did not publish. During her gallery years in New York, she grew close to artists Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol; Warhol’s idea for his famed picture of Campbell’s tomato soup cans was said to have originated with Latow.
During an extended stay in Egypt, Latow assembled one of the finest collections of Coptic art in private hands. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, she traveled extensively in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, mixing with the native residents, learning a great deal about them and their cultures, and immersing herself in the local art work. Her travel experiences provided much of the material for her romance novels, in which she glorified brave men and strong women whose overt eroticism titillated her readers. In her novels, Latow displayed a fascination for the way her characters’ present lives were affected by their pasts, and she continually explored matters of love and the continuity of relationships.
Latow received an award from Romantic Times for her second novel, Tidal Wave. On February 4, 2003, she succumbed to cancer in Oxford, England.