Scott Bendann Faculty Chair in Classical Music

DOROTHY SCOTT PAULINE BENDANN loved classical music, particularly opera. Ms. Bendann, known to friends as Scott, trained as a nurse at Union Memorial Hospital and later earned a degree from Columbia University. She worked as a freelance writer for New York newspapers before returning to live in Baltimore. In addition to this chair, her estate established a Peabody scholarship fund in memory of her mother, Lindred Scott Bendann. Scott Bendann was born into a family that has made many cultural and philanthropic contributions to Baltimore. Her grandfather, David Bendann, and his brother, Daniel Bendann, moved to Baltimore just before the Civil War and established the Bendann Brothers Photography Studio. Daniel, a pioneer of American photography, was particularly famous for his portraits of Confederate generals, although he also photographed Union supporters. The most often-reproduced portrait of Johns Hopkins, taken in 1871 at age 75, is by Daniel Bendann. After the Civil War, David Bendann left the photography business to concentrate on the fine arts, establishing the Bendann Art Gallery, which today is headed by his great-grandson, Lance Bendann. David also made a substantial gift toward the creation of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Ms. Bendann’s father, Felix, created a trust that, on her death, was divided between the Associated Jewish Charities and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her cousin Constance Bendann and Constance’s parents, the late Maurice and Violet Bendann, directed significant philanthropic support to the Wilmer Eye Institute at Hopkins, where they created a professorship in ophthalmology. The Maurice Bendann Eye Care Center at Greenspring Station also recognizes their support of the Wilmer Institute.