Gloria C. Naftali

Gloria arrived in the United States as a young French girl who eventually attended New York University where she studied Art History. She missed her actual graduation because she was on tour as an actress. Her favorite role was Jo in Little Women, and her passion for theater remained throughout her life. Eventually she started modeling, which is where she met her future husband Raymond. He asked this beautiful lady to model the entire clothing line three times while he built up the courage to ask her out. They were married 19 months later on October 20th, 1957.

Gloria and Raymond were “antique-ing” one day, and instead of buying a vase, they purchased the old Peabody House Hotel in South Londonderry, Vermont. With great love and affection they brought that Grand Old Dame back to life and ran a much loved ski lodge. Gloria excelled at being the host, the bartender, a skier and a friend to all around her. Her generous smile, wit and ability to talk about nearly any topic charmed everyone who fell into her orbit.

Gloria and Raymond purchased their beloved brownstone in 1969 and together rebuilt that old brownstone into a home for their children Joseph and Nicole, who they adopted in 1970 and 1972, respectively. Gloria loved her children, her grandson Anthony, and her grandchildren and worked tirelessly to fundraise for all of the schools they attended. Countless children around the country benefited from her charitable efforts.

After Raymond decided to close his clothing company in 1991, Gloria persuaded him to open the West Chelsea Arts Building in 1993 to foster an artistic community in Chelsea. It provided inexpensive studio space to many great artists including Glen Ligon, Gary Simmons & Louise Fishman among others and the building was instrumental in transforming the neighborhood into one of the premiere art centers of the world. In addition, Gloria founded one of the first art galleries in Chelsea with Carol Greene in 1995. Greene Naftali fostered the careers of many influential international artists including Jacqueline Humphries, Rachel Harrison, Michael Krebber, Tony Cokes, Walter Price, and played a meaningful role in the cultural life of NYC and beyond. It’s artists are in numerous international museums including the MoMA, the Pompidou, The Tate London, The Art Institute, MOCA LA, M+ Hong Kong, and many others. Gloria’s enthusiasm and passion for the arts played an important role in her efforts to support artists and dealers. She was often found in studios and galleries in the building sharing her wit, humor and generosity.

Gloria is survived by her son Joseph, her daughter Nicole, her grandson Anthony and her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Raymond, and she leaves behind numerous cousins, in-laws, family members and countless friends who will never forget the impact she had on their lives.

This act may be over for Gloria, but we’d all like to think she has gone off to watch plays with her mother Francis, frolic on a beach with all of her dogs, and dance the night away with her husband Raymond. May she rest in well deserved peace.

A visitation for Gloria will be held at Frank E. Campbell – The Funeral Chapel at 1076 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 on Friday, September 30th at 11a to 1pm and 3-4 with services between 4 and 5pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Gloria’s name to either The Actor’s Fund Home at actorsfundhome.org or She Should Run at sheshouldrun.org.