In Memoriam: Richard M. Danziger
Japan Society has lost a true friend and longtime supporter with the passing of Richard Danziger on November 9, 2024.
In the spring of 1974, Dick and his wife Peggy traveled to Japan on a special three-week tour for the Friends of Japan House Gallery, led by Japan Society Founding Gallery Director Rand Castile, that was filled with fine Japanese cuisine, visits to noted potters and kilns, admission to the inner grounds of the Ise shrines, a sword-smithing demonstration, and a tea ceremony at the Urasenke headquarters in Kyoto. That trip turned into a lifelong love for Japan and tea, in particular, inspiring a collection of art connected to the Japanese tea ceremony and leading Dick to become Chair of the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society of New York and a Board Member of Japan Society along with Peggy.
A longtime Friend of the Gallery and major supporter of Japan Society, Dick was a Member of the Society’s Board from 1982-1987 and on the Executive Committee from 1984-1985. He was a member of the Society’s 75th Anniversary Committee, the Anniversary Fund Committee, and the Japan Society Centennial Honorary Committee, also serving on the Art Advisory Committee from 2001-2005. Most recently he served on the selection committee for Japan Society’s Gallery Director Dr. Michele Bambling along with a distinguished group of Board and outside advisors. Dick lent his expertise, kindness, and good humor, as well as objects from his collection, to many of Japan Society’s exhibitions, among them Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections (March 24-July 11, 1999), The New Way of Tea (March 6-May 9, 2002), The Genius of Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin (March 21-June 15, 2007), and Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828) (September 29, 2012-January 6, 2013). In January 1987, when he was President of the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society, he gave a seminal lecture at Japan Society on “Chanoyu: Japan in Microcosm.”
Dick’s 50 years of commitment and devotion to Japan were complemented by his wife Peggy Danziger, a Founding Member of the Gallery who served on the Society’s Board from 1974 through 1981 and remains a loyal friend and strong supporter of Japan Society. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and all who knew him.
When not collecting art or inspiring others through his passion for learning and teaching, Dick practiced law in New York City. He was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Yale Law School.
