Malouf Abraham, Jr.
| Malouf Abraham, Jr. (Texas physician and art collector | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | March 29, 1939 Canadian, Hemphill County Texas, USA | ||
| Political Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse | Therese Browne Abraham (married December 1963) Three sons: | ||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||
Malouf Abraham, Jr. (born March 29, 1939), is a Lebanese-American retired physician and active art collector from Canadian in Hemphill County in the Texas Panhandle.
Biography
Abraham was born to oil and natural gas businessman Malouf Abraham, Sr., who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971, and the former Iris Lewis (1918–2001), a descendant of a pioneer Hemphill County family,[1] which included his grandfather, Nahim Abraham,[2] and his uncle, Tom Abraham, the owner of a former regionally known department store called "The Fair Store".[3]
In 1961, Abraham obtained his undergraduate degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. There is an endowed scholarship there in his name, underwritten by his parents.[4] He then procured his medical degree in 1964 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School] in Dallas. After graduation from medical school, Abraham interned in Savannah, Georgia. Thereafter, on receipt of a draft notice for the Vietnam War, he enlisted as a captain and military doctor in the United States Air Force, Strategic Air Command. He remained stateside, mostly in Bossier City, Louisiana, across the Red River from Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana, and for his work treating military personnel returning from Vietnam with allergies received the Air Force Commendation Medal. Until 2001, Abraham had operated an allergy clinic in Canadian for thirty-five years.[5]
Abraham is married to the former Therese Browne (born 1936), a native of Mount Airy in eastern North Carolina. The couple married c. 1964 in the Mount Air Catholic Church, which the Browne family helped to build with granite from their own quarry. Like her father-in-law, Therese Abraham is a former mayor of Canadian, having served from 1981 to 1991.[6][7] The Abrahams have three sons, all residing in Hemphill County, Eddie Christopher Abraham, a cattle rancher; Salem Abraham, a futures trader with offices in the Moody Building in Canadian, and Jason Abraham, a horse rancher.
Patron of the arts
The Citadelle
The Citadelle, operated by the Citadelle Art Foundation, is centered around Abraham's combination $7 million residence/art museum in Canadian, Texas, called "The Citadelle" or "Citadel Garden."[8] The mansion is located in the former First Baptist Church building.,[9][10] and has been featured on Home and Gardens Television.[6]
The Citadelle includes the Abraham mansion, gardens and grounds, furnishings, decorative arts and the Iris & Oofie Abraham Gallery.
Other art collections
In 1972, the Abrahams obtained a Norman Rockwell painting, The First Day of School, and started a collection which now includes works by J. C. Leyendecker, William Bouguereau, and Craig Bone.
Though none of his family members are Southern Baptist, Abraham in 1996 donated the "Malouf Abraham Family Art Center" to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. One of the pieces in the collection is Rockwell's The First Day of School in which a mother readies her son as he leaves home for the first day of school, while the boy's sister looks on in disinterest. The collection includes a mosaic cross bought at the Vatican Mosaic School and personally blessed by Pope John Paul II.[11]In 1995, then Governor George W. Bush, appointed Abraham to the Texas Commission on the Arts.[12]
Malouf and Therese Abraham divide their time between Canadian and a second home in Sarasota, Florida.
References
- ↑ Malouf Abraham, Oil & Gas. Amarillo Globe Times, reproduced on River Valley Pioneer Museum website (May 19, 2000). Retrieved on September 21, 2014; no longer on-line.
- ↑ H. Allen Anderson. Abraham, Nahim. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved on November 4, 2019.
- ↑ Tom Abraham, Merchant. River Valley Pioneer Museum. Retrieved on November 4, 2019.
- ↑ Trinity University Endowed Scholarship Funds. trinity.edu. Retrieved on September 22, 2014; no longer on-line.
- ↑ "News, Sniffles, Sneezes, and Aches," Southern Methodist University Daily Campus, November 10, 2004.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jay Brady (November 21, 2011). Doctor created medication and founded art museum. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved on September 22, 2014; no longer on-line.
- ↑ "City elects first woman mayor," Canadian Record, April 9, 1981, p. 6.
- ↑ Official site. The Citadelle. Retrieved on November 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Three Generations of Abrahams Attend Texas Tech," Texas Tech Business, Winter 1984, p. 16.
- ↑ Barbara Brannon (May 4, 2013). Canadian: Texas's far north offers a green oasis of music, art, history and fun. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on September 29, 2014; no longer on-line.
- ↑ Steven Barrett (September 27, 1996). Doctor talks about his art. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on September 22, 2014; no longer on-line.
- ↑ The Governor: Appointments Made October 23, 1995. texinfo.library.unt.edu. Retrieved on August 16, 2010; no longer on-line.
