BETTE SUE KNAPP

KNAPP--Sue. (January 15, 1935-November 11, 2021), age 86, of New York City, died in her sleep of natural causes at home on November 11, 2021. A true author of her life, she embodied Picasso's famous sentiment that "every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." Into her 80s, she was the life force of every party, and usually preferred the exuberance of the kids' table to the reserve of the adult corner. She was a great partner and wife to Malcolm, mother to Abigale Knapp-Govender and son-in-law Reuben Govender, and grandmother to Lucy. Born Bette Sue Oley in New York City, her family lived in Connecticut and later Westchester, and spent summers in Kennebunkport, Maine. Although she became a dyed- in-the-wool New Yorker and world traveler, she was equally in her element on the beaches of Cape Cod and swimming in the ocean in Amagansett with Lucy. She attended Connecticut College and then went to Chamberlain School of Retailing in Boston, where she graduated most likely to succeed. Right out of school, she was hired by Hudson's Department Store in Detroit as the better dress buyer. In the late 1950s, she moved to New York City, to the Carnegie Hill neighborhood where she would live for the next six decades. She ran the Little Shop Around the Corner, a party goods, toy and greeting card store that became an Upper East Side institution. In the summer, she was a counselor at and then director of the School of Creative Arts on Martha's Vineyard. Determined to begin collecting art, Sue moonlit at galleries around New York City. She soon became a regular at the Cedar Tavern, the watering hole for the downtown art scene. In 1964, she bought her first piece of art, a wooden elephant by Bill Accorsi, paying in installments. On Halloween of that year, she met Malcolm Knapp, a recent Harvard Business School graduate with a crew cut and a three- piece suit, who was an in- house consultant for a trade- magazine publishing company. At the end of the evening, he offered her a ride home and, four years later, proposed with a $5 ring from Woolworth's. They spent a month in Japan on their honeymoon and were annual visitors to the U.K. for many years. In 1972, they launched Malcolm M. Knapp, Inc., an economic and market research consulting firm, as equal partners, with the motto "common sense quantified." Together, they bought the best art they could afford, beginning with an Indian miniature from the Punjab. When those pieces became too expensive, they started collecting crafts, including work by art-jeweler Ed Wiener and ceramicist Wayne Higby. They became ardent supporters of the American Craft movement, and their four-room apartment evol- ved into a rotating gallery, stuffed with crafts and other art, the overflow stored in a plywood loft. In 1982, the Knapps were one of ten collectors to participate in "Approaches to Collecting," a show at the American Craft Museum in New York City. "For us, collecting is of the instant," Sue told The New York Times in an article about the exhibition. "We buy things even when we both don't like them. The other comes around." They commissioned two curators, Susanna Heron and David Ward, to put together an archive of contemporary, non- precious European jewelry, which led to "The JewelryProject: New Departures in British and European Work," an exhibition at the British Craft Council. Sue served on the board of The Day School, Abigale's elementary school, and co-founded with Jane Griner its fall festival. When her granddaughter Lucy was born, in 2008, Sue's childlike spirit had a new companion. In Carnegie Hill, her elaborately decorated brownstone was a must-stop on the Halloween circuit. Ten days before she died, she handed out 2,000 goodie bags of Halloween candy. Sue's style was notorious, with a uniform that included a striped sailor shirt, slim jeans and a hammered-gold cuff bracelet. In recent years, she brought her eye and wit to Instagram with her unconventional and hilarious observations around New York City. She is survived not only by her immediate family but by numerous friends of all generations, around the world, who loved her. In lieu of flowers, make a generous donation to the charity of your choice in Sue's name.