Caral Gimbel Lebworth

LEBWORTH--Caral Gimbel, died peacefully in her home on September 25, 2008. after a short illness. Caral was born on November 29, 1914 to Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel. The two great passions of Caral's long Iife were horses and the arts. At the age of 17, she dropped out of high school and went to Paris to study art for two years. There, she met and befriended many of the great painters of the day. She returned to New York and married Edward Lasker on February 1, 1935. They divorced ten years later. In 1946 Caral married Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Greenberg with whom she had three children --Glenn, Stephen and Alva Greenberg. Caral and Hank spent most of their marriage in Cleveland, Ohio where Caral pursued her passion for equestrian sports and Hank served as part owner and general manager of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. They divorced in 1959 and both moved back to New York, where Caral lived for the remainder of her life. In 1962, Caral married Joseph Lebworth with whom she spent the next 46 years in New York City, up until his death in May of this year. Caral began her equestrian career early and was riding competitively by the age of 14. She competed in hunting and jumping, both in the U.S. and abroad. She rode several times in Madison Square Garden at the National Horse Show and won numerous ribbons and trophies. Caral often rode in a hunt team with her mother and twin sister, Hope Solinger. While an accomplished painter in her youth, she gave up making art in favor of collecting it. She was a strong patron of the arts and supported many organizations such as Plays for Living, the Museum of Modern Art and Independent Curators International. Caral is survived by her sister, her three children, ten grandchildren and one great-grandson. A private service will be held in October. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Independent Curators International, 799 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.