Mary Warburg

Mary Warburg, the widow of Edward M. M. Warburg, a member of the Warburg banking family and a prominent patron of the arts, Mrs. Warburg was involved over the years as a supporter or board member of many charitable organizations, among them the Henry Street Settlement; the United Negro College Fund; the Institute of International Education; the Association for Homemaker Service, a social welfare agency; and the Hole in the Wall Camps, the network of camps for seriously ill children founded by Paul Newman. She was also long active in Democratic Party circles. Mary Whelan Prue was born in Texas on Dec. 6, 1908, An early marriage, to Richard Currier, ended in divorce in 1936. In 1939, she married Mr. Warburg, a founder of the Jewish Museum; the Museum of Modern Art; and the American Ballet, the precursor of the New York City Ballet. Mr. Warburg died in 1992. Mrs. Warburg’s sister, Edwina d’Erlanger, the widow of Baron Leo d’Erlanger, died in 1994. Besides her daughter, Mrs. Astor, of Hatley St. George, England, Mrs. Warburg is survived by a son, David Warburg, of Sebastopol, Calif.; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. A son from Mrs. Warburg’s first marriage, Stephen Currier, disappeared with his wife in 1967 aboard a private plane flying over the Caribbean Sea.