A Life Bound to the Arts

The University of Virginia’s longstanding relationship with The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation can be traced back to 1950s New York City and the storied law firm Greenbaum, Wolff & Ernst. Until it ceased operations in 1982, the firm was known for its work representing high-profile literary and artistic clients, such as Tennessee Williams, Carl Sandburg, and Truman Capote. As an estate lawyer with the firm, Joe Erdman (Col ’56) represented novelists and playwrights, including Edna Ferber and Morris West, and the actor Peter Falk. He drew up the wills for Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. One of Erdman’s partners, a tax lawyer named Richard Ader, represented the acclaimed artist and filmmaker Joseph Cornell.