Dorothy Ruby Saxe

Dorothy Saxe, dedicated art collector and local philanthropist, dies at 100

by Emma Goss October 16, 2026

For Dorothy Saxe, expressing gratitude was part of how she lived life - all 100 years of it. The Bay Area Jewish community philanthropist, renowned art collector and founding trustee of San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum died Oct. 13 at her Menlo Park home.

"She never complained," said Ellen Saliman, Saxe's daughter. Saxe was in hospice in her final months. Even on the day she died, she thanked her nurse, Saliman said. "She was very grateful." Saxe was particularly known as the force behind the CJM's Dorothy Saxe Invitational, a show held every few years that provided an opportunity for the museum to bring contemporary art into conversation with Jewish tradition - and for artists to exhibit innovative works.

"For decades now, artists of every background have reimagined Kiddush cups, spice boxes, Chanukiahs, seder plates, and tzedakah boxes, and more recently, Jewish ideas such as Sabbath and tikkun," Kerry King, executive director of the CJM, said in an email.

Saxe was born Dorothy Ruby on Feb. 10, 1926, in Michigan City, Indiana.

A year after graduating from Northwestern University with a psychology degree, she married George Saxe, a man she'd fallen in love with only four months prior during a chance meeting when he was visiting one of her friends in Indianapolis. Marrying Dorothy was "the best thing that ever happened to me," George told our newspaper in 2007, when the two celebrated their 60th anniversary.

While in Indiana, the couple had three children, Loren, Ellen and Joel before relocating to Palo Alto in 1959 where George began his career as a real estate developer.

The family joined Reform Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills just a few years after its founding. At home, they made Friday night Shabbat dinner part of their weekly traditions.

"I was allowed to go out after dinner, but I had to be home to light candles and say kiddush," Saliman said. "That was kind of a rule in our house that we had to be home for Shabbat dinner."

Saxe was a devoted patron of the arts and enjoyed ballet and opera. She and her husband enjoyed art collecting together, which became their lifetime pursuit.

It happened by accident.

In the late 1970s, Saxe came across a catalogue from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York and became fascinated by contemporary studio glass, an art form she and George grew to love, Saliman recalled.

"They didn't know anything about it, but they educated themselves on glass. They met with gallery owners, collectors and artists all over the country and started collecting studio glass," Saliman said.

As early collectors, they became "great innovators in the field of glass art," said Ron Kaufman, a longtime friend of the Saxes, who served on the board of the CJM with Dorothy.

"She was just a special, very down-to-earth person," Kaufman said.

Over time, the couple collected more than 700 works and donated much of it to museums, including to the de Young in San Francisco, which opened the Dorothy and George Saxe Gallery and hosts the Saxe Collection, described by the museum as "one of the premier collections of contemporary craft in the United States."

The Saxes donated generously to the Bay Area Jewish community. They gave major gifts to the CJM and were early supporters of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, helping build the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life.

"She stayed close long after the doors opened, supporting the Tower Mural Project and championing our community year after year," Zack Bodner, CEO of the OFJCC, said in a communitywide email.

The Saxes made substantial gifts to S.F-based Jewish Family and Children's Services, Camp Newman and Congregation Beth Am. They were donor-advised fund holders with Jewish Federation Bay Area for decades.

She earned the federation's 2022 Judith Chapman Memorial Women's Leadership Award.

"Dorothy Saxe dedicated her energy, time, and resources to supporting Jewish life and education and had a lifelong connection with the Federation," Joy Sisisky, CEO of the Jewish Federation Bay Area, said in an email. Saxe and her husband "extended that commitment by ensuring their children and grandchildren understood the importance of building a strong Jewish community."

Saxe was a trustee of the Contemporary Jewish Museum from its founding until her death. She also served on the board of Jewish Family and Children's Services and the regional chapter of AIPAC. She was a trustee for three decades of the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state. She and George also helped establish the nonprofit Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.

In 1984, the Saxes were among the founding donors to the predecessor to the CJM, which began on the bottom floor of the Federation building on Steuart Street.

"She was far more than an exemplary trustee and a generous donor," King said. "She was a collector with deep knowledge, and she built long-lasting friendships with the artists whose work she loved. Many of those artists, and many members of our staff, considered her a mentor."

When the CJM made difficult decisions, Saxe was a resource and a key adviser, King said.

"I have felt Dorothy's warmth, wisdom, and encouragement every step of the way," King said. "Whenever we faced tough organizational choices, she listened, she asked hard questions, and she was decisive in her recommendations. Her love of Jewish life and her love of art were never separate. The CJM is, in so many ways, where those two passions met."

David Saxe, one of Saxe's six grandchildren and a vice chair of the CJM board, observed the same. He said that for his grandmother, the CJM was where she could unite her devotion to both Judaism and art.

After George's death in 2010, David often accompanied her to art events.

"I would look at my grandmother as such a significant role model in my life, and she inspired me to get involved in the arts and the Jewish community," he said.

Her wit and humor never diminished, Saliman said of her mother. Neither did her joie de vivre and love of family.

Saliman's husband is Dr. Jerry Saliman, a longtime health columnist for J. He wrote a column last fall about his mother-in-law's enthusiasm for life. "The most common adjective that everyone uses to describe her is 'amazing,'" he wrote.

At David's wedding to former Sausalito mayor Melissa Saxe Blaustein in October 2025, the groom recalled how his grandmother partied with them until 11:30 p.m. "She was dancing in her wheelchair," he said.

A memorial service will be held at Congregation Beth Am at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, following a private burial.