Liliane S. Kaufmann 1889-1952

Lillian was born in Pittsburgh and led a sheltered childhood in the neighborhood of prosperous Jewish families in Pittsburgh’s Manchester district, which was home to the extended Kaufmann family. She made full use of her sharp mind, her gift for foreign languages, and her innate sense of style. (She later changed her name to the more elegant Liliane). She married Edgar J. Kaufmann in 1909, and they formed a striking couple. Former Kaufmann’s Department Store employees recall that all eyes immediately turned to Mr. and Mrs. Kaufmann when they entered the store for a day’s work.

Liliane was a superb hostess who could deftly orchestrate food, setting, and conversation. As Jews, they encountered boundaries that limited the scope of their ambitions in Pittsburgh society, but they maintained an ever-growing circle of creative people as friends – a circle which eventually included Frank Lloyd Wright. Their homes reflected their cosmopolitan outlook and frequent travels. They collected paintings and objets d’art, and their taste embraced everything from folk crafts to contemporary design. These interests were shared by their only child, Edgar Kaufmann jr.

In 1933, Liliane took control of the store’s unprofitable 11th floor and established the Vendome Shops, named for the elegant Place Vendome in Paris – the address of the Ritz Hotel where she stayed on her buying trips to Paris, and of the many boutiques in which she shopped for jewelry and apparel.

Liliane was devoted to public health causes. Her work at Montefiore and Mercy Hospitals ranged from making policy in the boardroom to wrapping bandages in the emergency room. In 1934, she was elected President of Montefiore Hospital – the first and only female to head the Board of Trustees – and she served in this capacity for nine years. She was a longtime activist in the hospital as well as a major financial backer.

In 1942, she trained for the Red Cross Nurse’s Aid Corps at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C. After completing the course she undertook the fulltime job at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh of helping regular nurses in the emergency department. She volunteered for 10 years at Mercy, serving on several committees as well as representing the hospital at Pittsburgh’s Council of Medical Social Service.

An avid outdoors person herself, Liliane enjoyed hiking, horseback riding, and reportedly, fly fishing. She raised long-haired Dachshunds as show dogs. Liliane died on September 7, 1952; the next year, Montefiore Hospital dedicated its new student nurses’ school and residence in her memory.

While her husband relished the challenge of building Fallingwater, it was Liliane’s sensibilities and attention to detail which brought elegance to a mountain retreat. Visiting Fallingwater today, you still see those details – especially in the floral arrangements: a loose gathering of one type of flower, casually placed in a simple but well-designed vase.