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Patron of the arts dies at 78

A $17.5-million gift from Isabelle Sutton and her ex-husband underwrote a Tarpon Springs museum.

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published July 22, 2006

HOLIDAY - Isabelle Ellen Sutton, a patron of the arts who along with Allen Leepa donated millions to establish the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, died Wednesday (July 19, 2006). She was 78.

"Isabelle Sutton Leepa made a very significant contribution to the west coast of Florida and changed the face of philanthropy for St. Petersburg College," said Janice Buchanan, executive director of the St. Petersburg College Foundation.

Ms. Sutton had been sick and receiving hospice care at home, where she was surrounded by family, said Lynn Whitelaw, the museum's director.

"She is a dear sweet lady, and I think all of us did not want her to suffer, and she did not deserve to have any suffering in her life," Whitelaw said.

Ms. Sutton was born in Ontario and came here in 1983 from Mason, Mich.

A weaver and a sculptor, Ms. Sutton saw the Leepa-Rattner Museum as an "educational tool for young artists, a place where they could see the end result and could work on their art," said her son, Daryl Sutton.

"She wanted something out there that showed that art is still important and is a very viable part of our education," he said.

In 1996, she and her then-husband, Allen Leepa, gave St. Petersburg Junior College about $17.5-million in art and property to be used at its campus in Tarpon Springs. The couple later divorced.

That donation made possible the creation of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, which opened in 2002.

That year, Fortune magazine named them among the 40 most generous Americans. Newsweek called it a gift of national significance.

Allen Leepa, an artist known for his colorful abstract paintings and several books he wrote about modern art, wanted to be close to the art of Abraham Rattner, a prominent artist from the mid 20th century who was his stepfather and mentor. For that reason, the couple gave the college an endowment of $2.15-million and an art collection.

Works by Rattner, best known for his religious paintings, Allen Leepa and other famous artists, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Marc Chagall, are housed in the museum.

"She had a wonderful respect for the artwork and a desire to see Abraham Rattner's dream of a museum being built, as well as Allen's dream," Whitelaw said.

But she was content, said her son, to work behind the scenes.

"She didn't want to be in the spotlight," he said.

Ms. Sutton, known as Granny to family and friends, loved the angular building, but in the last year her health declined and she did not come as often. She did not make public appearances any more. In her final months, she was under the care of her granddaughter, Jamie Johnson of Holiday.

Survivors include two sons, Daryl Sutton of Davison, Mich., and Dennis Sutton of Grand Rapids, Mich.; two daughters, Charlene Simpson of Lansing, Mich., and Cheryl Rea of Holiday; two brothers, Ken Bennett of Pittsford, Mich., and Bud Bennett of Dearborn, Mich.; nine grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Vinson's Memorial Chapel, 456 E Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs, with a funeral service at 10 a.m. Monday in the chapel and burial at Cycadia Cemetery.

[Last modified July 21, 2006, 22:03:31]