BY ROSE ADAMS
Jane Walentas, an artist,
philanthropist, and Dumbo
pioneer who restored Brooklyn
Bridge Park’s historic
carousel, died on July 5. She
was 76 years old.
Walentas, an accomplished
artist and creative
director, played a critical
role in nurturing Dumbo’s
artistic renaissance for more
than 30 years. She sponsored
local artists, brought arts
programs to the Brooklyn
neighborhood, and dedicated
her life’s work to restoring
the 1922 carousel in Brooklyn
Bridge Park that’s named
in her honor.
Walentas was born Jane
Leslie Zimmerman in Teaneck,
New Jersey in 1944. She
graduated from Moore College
of Art & Design in Philadelphia
in 1966, and began
working at Estée Lauder four
years later, where she served
as a creative director until
1983. She received a master’s
degree in printmaking from
New York University one
year later.
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In 1973, Jane married David
Walentas — the founder
of the real estate development
fi rm Two Trees Management
who purchased most
of Dumbo for $12 million in
the 1980s. The deal was made
possible by Jane’s close connection
to Ronald and Leonard
Lauder, the heirs to the
Estée Lauder brand, who
loaned the Walentas $6 million
for the purchase.
Jane spent the following
decades fostering the neighborhood’s
artistic community.
In 2008, she worked with
artist Chuck Close to bring a
program that provides artists
with free studio space to
Dumbo, and she frequently
offered discounted or free
studio space to artists in Two
Trees’ properties.
Her most famous achievement,
however, was her purchase
and restoration of
Jane’s Carousel — a 98-yearold
carnival ride she spent
nearly three decades revitalizing.
The project began in 1983,
when her husband — who was
selected to develop Brooklyn
Bridge Park — hired waterfront
architect Ben Thompson
to design the greenspace.
The masterplan called for the
installation of a historic carousel,
a mission Jane made
her own.
After a year-long search,
Jane found a 19th century
carousel in Youngstown,
Ohio that was going to be
sold piecemeal, and purchased
it for $385,000. She
spent the next 27 years scraping
away layers of paint with
an X-Acto knife to uncover
the carousel’s original color
palette, and restored its 48
exquisitely-painted horses
to their former glory. After
the carousel’s completion
in 2011, Jane founded
the Friends of Jane’s Carousel
to manage its operation,
and served as the group’s
executive director until her
death.
Jane is survived by her
husband; her son, Jed Walentas;
her stepson, Christopher
Walentas; and two grandchildren.
Jane Walentas.
Courtesy of the Walentas family
A woman and child ride Jane’s Carousel in 2016.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Jane Walentas, the artist behind
Dumbo’s historic carousel, dies
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