News

By Emily J. Minor
    
MANALAPAN — Miriam H. Knapp, a renowned sculptor who adored her family, old-school manners and the magic of stage ballet, died March 20 after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer over the summer. She was 77.
Born in Paris to the late Selma and Maxime Levy Hermanos, Mrs. Knapp never lost her love for European charm and manners. A graduate of the Dalton School, Bennington College and Columbia University — where she received a master of arts in French literature — Mrs. Knapp kept homes in both New York City and Manalapan.
    When she died, she had been married to her husband, Dr. Robert Knapp, for 56 years and together they had three children and five grandchildren.
    Jennifer McGrath, who grew to know and love Mrs. Knapp through McGrath’s work as program director for Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper — a prominent fundraising and awareness arm for ovarian cancer research — said Mrs. Knapp always filled every room with charm.
    “She was the most gracious and genuine person I had ever met,” McGrath said.
    Dr. Knapp is known as one of the two co-inventors of the CA-125 test, a procedure used to detect ovarian cancer.
    “The way she treated a stranger, with such poise,” said McGrath, who would often visit the couple’s home on business. “You could tell immediately that she was a woman of integrity.”
    During her sculpting career, Mrs. Knapp worked with a wide range of materials, including steel — which was unusual for that time. “She was kind of out-of-the-box for doing that,” McGrath said.
    And Mrs. Knapp favored massive works, including three famous pieces that are still in prominent display at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach in Manalapan.
    The Ritz piece is located just outside the hotel’s spa area, and is quite spectacular.
    Besides sculpting, Mrs. Knapp was a great lover of ballet. A longtime supporter of the Miami City Ballet, Mrs. Knapp had served on the company’s Palm Beach board of trustees for nearly a decade.
    Besides her husband, the couple’s three children survive her: Louise Iyengar, Jennifer Crawford and Michael Knapp. Services were held in New York City, and the family asks that any memorials in her honor be sent to: Miami City Ballet, 2200 Liberty Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139.